James Webb telescope is now about 1.5 million km away from us reaches the L2 point. It has been reached its target point and fully deployed in space. It is now ready to explore the cosmos.
What is the L2 point?
Every two-body system has 5 Lagrange points associated with it. And we know that the gravitational force between two bodies balances the centrifugal force during their rotation.
L1, L2, and L3 are unstable points in the Earth-Sun system, Where L4 and L5 are stable points. But, we can not place our JWST at L4 and L5 Lagrange points because their orbital path is full of small asteroids. The L2 point lies 1.5 million km away from us, and it is the perfect place to explore the Cosmos. It is the ideal place for astronomy because a spacecraft is close enough to communicate with the earth.
Deployment of James Webb telescope and how it will work?
There were 344 possible ways in which the placement of the Webb telescope at the L2 point could be failed. But James Webb telescope has successfully passed all failure points, and now it is completed all its deployment, and it is now ready to capture its first image.
First, the deployment of sun shields, secondary mirrors, and the primary mirror will happen. James Webb telescope started its deployment journey on January 24, 2022. Webb has a halo orbit. That means it will circle the L2 point as the L2 point circle the sun.
Interesting facts about the James Webb telescope:
1. JWST will thruster its fire buster every 21 days to maintain the telescope orbit.
2. Next 5 to 6 months, it will calibrate its science components, and we will get only blurry images.
3. It can work up to – 266 degrees C.
4. Once the telescope runs out of fuel, then the mission will be over.
Thank you.