Blogs

The new missions will examine fundamental climate systems and processes, including extreme storms, surface water and oceans, and atmospheric dust.

Shortly after 9 a.m. EST today, the Webb team completed deployment of the observatory’s aft momentum flap. In a process that took about eight minutes, engineers released the flap’s hold-down devices, and a spring brought the flap into its final position. The aft momentum flap helps minimize the fuel engineers will need to use throughout …

With Webb’s first major structural deployments completed and the observatory’s Deployable Tower Assembly extended, we are taking a step back to learn more about Webb’s sunshield. Observatory Project Scientist Michael McElwain, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, provided these thoughts: “The Webb telescope and science instruments are ready to enter the shade, never again to …

This afternoon, the Webb team successfully extended the observatory’s Deployable Tower Assembly (DTA), creating critical distance between the two halves of the spacecraft. The DTA extended about 48 inches (1.22 meters), putting room between the upper section of the observatory, which houses the mirrors and scientific instruments, and the spacecraft bus, which holds the electronics …

Payloads: Ring Sheared Drop:  Ring Sheared Drop hardware was removed and stowed.  The Ring Sheared Drop investigation examines the formation and flow of amyloids without the complications associated with the solid walls of a container, because in microgravity, surface tension provides containment of the liquid.  Amyloids – fibrous, extracellular protein deposits found in organs and …

The astronauts and cosmonauts of Expedition 66 worked throughout Wednesday on U.S. and Russian spacesuits. The orbital residents will also end 2021 working on life science and cargo operations aboard the International Space Station. Among the 6,500 pounds of cargo delivered aboard the SpaceX Cargo Dragon on Dec. 22 were a U.S. spacesuit and other …

Shortly after 9:00 a.m. EST today, engineering teams began the process of extending Webb’s Deployable Tower Assembly (DTA). When deployed, the DTA will create space between the spacecraft and the telescope, to allow for better thermal isolation and provide room for the sunshield to deploy. This deployment is expected to take six or more hours. …

After a successful launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Dec. 25, and completion of two mid-course correction maneuvers, the Webb team has analyzed its initial trajectory and determined the observatory should have enough propellant to allow support of science operations in orbit for significantly more than a 10-year science lifetime. (The minimum baseline for …

Webb is beginning to resemble the form it will take when it is fully deployed – now that the mission operations team has successfully deployed and latched into place the observatory’s forward and aft Unitized Pallet Structures. The team began working through the deployment of the forward pallet this morning, concluding at approximately 1:21 p.m. …

Payloads: Advanced Plant EXperiment-07 (APEX-07):  The crew configured both Veggie Facilities for initial APEX-07 operations, preparation, and insertion of thirty Petri Plates per Veggie facility.  APEX-07 examines how changes in gravity and other environmental factors associated with spaceflight affect plants at the level of gene expression.  Previous research shows that microgravity conditions during spaceflight affects …