NASA Webb TelescopeVerified account

Webb’s first deployment, its solar array, occurs about a half hour after launch. It will stop the drain on Webb's internal battery & supply ~2 kilowatts of power to drive the spacecraft’s electrical systems. Webb’s antennas are then deployed to enable high speed communication.pic.twitter.com/LpmxJh8edN

At 12 and a half hours after launch, Webb will fire its thrusters, performing the first of several critical course corrections that send the observatory towards its final destination in orbit. The observatory will pass the Moon nearly two and a half days after launch.pic.twitter.com/mR2Q3ChEBu

The first of Webb's major deployments is the extension of its sunshield frame, known as a unitized pallet structure (UPS). These pallets fold down nearly three days after launch, opening the observatory up to continue expanding.pic.twitter.com/IgcVGE3rgB

Four days after launch, a deployable tower will extend to separate the telescope's upper half — its mirrors and instruments — from its spacecraft bus. This separation effectively isolates the telescope from vibrations and conducted heat coming from the spacecraft bus.pic.twitter.com/c3IZDY4Yh4

Sunshield membrane deployments begin about 5 days after launch. A critical juncture will occur when all 107 sunshield release mechanisms, or special pins that keep the five sunshield layers locked into place, fire on cue and pull themselves out to free the membranes.pic.twitter.com/Vw5TnppSiY

After all sunshield pins have been successfully removed, two sunshield "arms," known as mid-booms, extend to pull each of the sunshield layers out into their characteristic diamond formation.pic.twitter.com/7AmkTKGkTp

Following full sunshield deployment, each of the sunshield's five layers are tensioned and separated using special pulleys and motor systems. Sunshield deployments and tensioning are expected to conclude between eight to nine days after liftoff.pic.twitter.com/1d7lJD4jrj

Next, Webb’s optics — and @NASA’s new eye on the cosmos — open up. Telescope deployment begins by unfolding and latching into place the tripod holding the secondary mirror, and is expected to conclude two hours into the 10th day after liftoff.pic.twitter.com/NfmwG949Zw