1 00:00:13,155 --> 00:00:16,795 NASA has just released the first pictures 2 00:00:16,795 --> 00:00:20,035 from the new James Webb Space Telescope. 3 00:00:24,995 --> 00:00:26,275 These images, 4 00:00:26,275 --> 00:00:31,675 containing starlight more ancient than any ever seen before, 5 00:00:31,675 --> 00:00:34,155 herald a new age of discovery. 6 00:00:35,275 --> 00:00:37,795 It's the largest space telescope we've ever built. 7 00:00:37,795 --> 00:00:41,435 We're going to make discoveries which we never anticipated. 8 00:00:41,435 --> 00:00:46,515 It's one of NASA's most challenging missions since the moon landings. 9 00:00:46,515 --> 00:00:49,395 Webb is on par with Apollo. 10 00:00:49,395 --> 00:00:52,235 Just the size of it, the complexity, the reach. 11 00:00:53,635 --> 00:00:58,115 The telescope will probe the furthest reaches of our universe. 12 00:00:59,355 --> 00:01:01,755 But it's like Hubble on steroids. 13 00:01:01,755 --> 00:01:04,395 Hubble opened up the deep universe for us. 14 00:01:04,395 --> 00:01:09,275 Well, the James Webb Telescope is going to go even deeper. 15 00:01:09,275 --> 00:01:12,915 It will look back in time to the birth of light. 16 00:01:12,915 --> 00:01:15,355 There will be moments where we could actually look back 17 00:01:15,355 --> 00:01:16,795 to the first stars. 18 00:01:18,195 --> 00:01:21,475 Let me say that again, the first stars turning on, 19 00:01:21,475 --> 00:01:23,715 that's what we're going to try to see. 20 00:01:23,715 --> 00:01:26,995 It will explore beyond our solar system, 21 00:01:26,995 --> 00:01:30,395 to reveal the secrets of distant planets. 22 00:01:30,395 --> 00:01:32,115 This is mind-boggling. 23 00:01:32,115 --> 00:01:34,075 We can actually look at these planets 24 00:01:34,075 --> 00:01:36,515 and maybe actually find life out there. 25 00:01:36,515 --> 00:01:38,515 We're going to see the universe in a whole new way 26 00:01:38,515 --> 00:01:40,355 that we've never seen it before. 27 00:01:41,555 --> 00:01:44,635 It has taken over 30 years, 28 00:01:44,635 --> 00:01:46,875 £8 billion 29 00:01:46,875 --> 00:01:50,115 and the work of over 10,000 people 30 00:01:50,115 --> 00:01:53,955 to create the most advanced telescope ever built. 31 00:01:53,955 --> 00:01:56,595 If Hubble rewrote the textbooks once, 32 00:01:56,595 --> 00:01:58,835 James Webb will rewrite them again. 33 00:01:58,835 --> 00:02:01,475 So, be ready for a brand-new universe. 34 00:02:13,515 --> 00:02:17,995 Los Angeles, 26th of September, 2021. 35 00:02:19,395 --> 00:02:23,155 In a secret operation, a specially designed container 36 00:02:23,155 --> 00:02:26,355 carrying the James Webb Space Telescope 37 00:02:26,355 --> 00:02:31,515 begins the long journey to the launch site in South America. 38 00:02:36,715 --> 00:02:39,395 Security is tight. 39 00:02:39,395 --> 00:02:44,275 The telescope is the most expensive scientific instrument ever built. 40 00:02:53,675 --> 00:02:56,315 Waiting anxiously at a nearby harbour 41 00:02:56,315 --> 00:03:00,795 is the man overseeing the entire Webb Space Telescope programme, 42 00:03:00,795 --> 00:03:02,835 Greg Robinson. 43 00:03:04,195 --> 00:03:08,115 It's been about 20 years and about $10 billion. 44 00:03:08,115 --> 00:03:12,155 But the global impact that this mission is going to have... 45 00:03:12,155 --> 00:03:14,995 It's hard to put dollars on it. 46 00:03:14,995 --> 00:03:16,915 It's quite nerve-racking. 47 00:03:19,235 --> 00:03:22,955 Astronomers hope this telescope will change the way 48 00:03:22,955 --> 00:03:24,515 we view the universe. 49 00:03:25,955 --> 00:03:31,075 NASA built it to fulfil a dream that began in the last century. 50 00:03:47,595 --> 00:03:50,435 Over Christmas in 1995, 51 00:03:50,435 --> 00:03:53,595 the astronomers in charge of the Hubble Space Telescope 52 00:03:53,595 --> 00:03:56,315 took an extraordinary photo. 53 00:03:58,955 --> 00:04:02,955 What they did is they actually looked at a piece of empty space, 54 00:04:02,955 --> 00:04:06,595 and it was deliberately chosen to be a piece of empty space, 55 00:04:06,595 --> 00:04:09,435 because what they wanted to do was get a really long exposure 56 00:04:09,435 --> 00:04:11,075 and see what was out there. 57 00:04:13,035 --> 00:04:15,195 It looked for ten whole days. 58 00:04:16,995 --> 00:04:19,955 And when the images started to come back, 59 00:04:19,955 --> 00:04:24,715 that tiny piece of space turned out to have lots of stars and galaxies. 60 00:04:24,715 --> 00:04:26,675 It was amazing. 61 00:04:29,635 --> 00:04:33,915 This was an image that just blew away all of us astronomers. 62 00:04:35,355 --> 00:04:40,835 This was the deepest image ever, up to that time, of our universe. 63 00:04:42,795 --> 00:04:46,035 The image is known as the Hubble Deep Field. 64 00:04:47,635 --> 00:04:50,875 It shows about 3,000 galaxies. 65 00:04:53,515 --> 00:04:57,915 Astronomers realised they were seeing the distant galaxies 66 00:04:57,915 --> 00:05:00,515 as they existed a very long time ago. 67 00:05:04,075 --> 00:05:07,355 When we look out to space, we're also looking at time. 68 00:05:07,355 --> 00:05:09,795 And that's because light takes a finite time 69 00:05:09,795 --> 00:05:11,715 to travel through space. 70 00:05:11,715 --> 00:05:15,555 Light travels at 300,000 kilometres per second, 71 00:05:15,555 --> 00:05:17,795 which is pretty incredibly fast. 72 00:05:17,795 --> 00:05:19,715 It's the fastest thing we know of, 73 00:05:19,715 --> 00:05:22,075 yet even that is finite. 74 00:05:22,075 --> 00:05:24,995 And so it takes time for the light from the object we're looking at 75 00:05:24,995 --> 00:05:26,675 to get to us. 76 00:05:28,875 --> 00:05:32,955 Light from the most distant objects Hubble can see 77 00:05:32,955 --> 00:05:36,035 takes around 13 billion years to reach us. 78 00:05:38,835 --> 00:05:42,275 This means we are seeing them as they were 79 00:05:42,275 --> 00:05:45,915 a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. 80 00:05:48,635 --> 00:05:51,595 But that's where our observations with Hubble stop. 81 00:05:54,235 --> 00:05:57,035 Just a little further back in time, 82 00:05:57,035 --> 00:05:59,955 the first stars and galaxies were born. 83 00:06:02,315 --> 00:06:05,715 It's frustrating. These objects are just out of the range 84 00:06:05,715 --> 00:06:07,275 of the Hubble Space Telescope. 85 00:06:07,275 --> 00:06:09,395 So even though we may be only going back, 86 00:06:09,395 --> 00:06:12,075 say, half a billion years more, 87 00:06:12,075 --> 00:06:15,395 that's when that first generation of stars turned on. 88 00:06:17,515 --> 00:06:20,555 Astronomers desperately want to know what happened 89 00:06:20,555 --> 00:06:22,915 in the early years of the universe. 90 00:06:24,315 --> 00:06:27,235 How were the first stars and galaxies created? 91 00:06:30,675 --> 00:06:33,195 We're talking about the beginning of history 92 00:06:33,195 --> 00:06:35,915 and there's a natural curiosity to understand, 93 00:06:35,915 --> 00:06:38,115 how did it all get started? 94 00:06:39,995 --> 00:06:42,435 We can make all the models in the world and we can write 95 00:06:42,435 --> 00:06:43,795 lots of papers and we can say, 96 00:06:43,795 --> 00:06:45,915 well, if it's like this or if it's like that, 97 00:06:45,915 --> 00:06:49,195 but at the end of the day, you just got to go look. 98 00:06:51,835 --> 00:06:56,195 In the 1980s, before Hubble had even launched, 99 00:06:56,195 --> 00:06:59,195 a small group of scientists among the staff 100 00:06:59,195 --> 00:07:03,915 of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, 101 00:07:03,915 --> 00:07:06,595 began working on ideas for its successor. 102 00:07:08,235 --> 00:07:10,875 Peter Stockman was on the team. 103 00:07:12,435 --> 00:07:15,955 Our director said, you know, "You need to start thinking 104 00:07:15,955 --> 00:07:18,155 "about what the next telescope is going to be like, 105 00:07:18,155 --> 00:07:20,555 "even before this one launches." 106 00:07:20,555 --> 00:07:24,235 So we invited a bunch of astronomers and engineers 107 00:07:24,235 --> 00:07:26,955 and people from all over NASA 108 00:07:26,955 --> 00:07:30,955 to give talks about what they would imagine the telescope to be. 109 00:07:33,395 --> 00:07:36,515 Ideas included a telescope on the moon 110 00:07:36,515 --> 00:07:38,435 and several in space. 111 00:07:42,515 --> 00:07:46,235 But it was the Hubble image of distant galaxies 112 00:07:46,235 --> 00:07:49,395 that would truly shape the telescope's design. 113 00:07:52,075 --> 00:07:54,475 When the Hubble Deep Field came out, 114 00:07:54,475 --> 00:07:56,755 people realised, my gosh, 115 00:07:56,755 --> 00:07:58,315 if we can do this with Hubble 116 00:07:58,315 --> 00:08:02,515 and we had a telescope with even more resolution, 117 00:08:02,515 --> 00:08:04,675 we can look way far back. 118 00:08:04,675 --> 00:08:10,755 And that, really, was the target for the Webb telescope, 119 00:08:10,755 --> 00:08:14,835 to look at the earliest formation of stars and galaxies. 120 00:08:19,915 --> 00:08:23,555 To see the very first stars and galaxies in the universe 121 00:08:23,555 --> 00:08:27,195 will require an incredibly powerful telescope. 122 00:08:30,075 --> 00:08:32,115 It will need to be placed in space, 123 00:08:32,115 --> 00:08:34,115 above the Earth's atmosphere, 124 00:08:34,115 --> 00:08:37,795 which blocks most of the starlight they're trying to see. 125 00:08:39,435 --> 00:08:41,595 And it will have to be large. 126 00:08:42,715 --> 00:08:44,875 With telescopes, it's all about how big it is. 127 00:08:44,875 --> 00:08:47,515 The bigger it is, usually the crisper the image is 128 00:08:47,515 --> 00:08:49,555 and the more sensitive it is. 129 00:08:51,315 --> 00:08:54,195 When astronomers say a big telescope, 130 00:08:54,195 --> 00:08:56,875 they mean a big main mirror. 131 00:08:58,955 --> 00:09:01,355 The larger the mirror, the more photons, 132 00:09:01,355 --> 00:09:03,395 the more light that you collect. 133 00:09:03,395 --> 00:09:06,355 And when you're trying to look at things that are really dim, 134 00:09:06,355 --> 00:09:09,835 you need a really big telescope to collect more photons. 135 00:09:13,635 --> 00:09:18,115 Before Webb, the largest mirror NASA had launched into space 136 00:09:18,115 --> 00:09:21,435 was in the Hubble Space Telescope. 137 00:09:21,435 --> 00:09:26,435 It's a solid piece of glass, 2.4 metres in diameter. 138 00:09:28,635 --> 00:09:31,195 But for the James Webb Space Telescope, 139 00:09:31,195 --> 00:09:35,355 astronomers want a mirror 6.5 metres across. 140 00:09:37,955 --> 00:09:41,795 This is too wide to fit inside the largest rocket available. 141 00:09:52,955 --> 00:09:55,155 In 1995, 142 00:09:55,155 --> 00:09:57,675 it was a challenging problem 143 00:09:57,675 --> 00:10:00,435 for the telescope's first engineer, Pierre Bely. 144 00:10:02,275 --> 00:10:04,235 So, this is a school notebook, 145 00:10:04,235 --> 00:10:07,875 but I used it to keep track of all the discussion 146 00:10:07,875 --> 00:10:10,795 that we had and the concept. 147 00:10:10,795 --> 00:10:15,075 This is the first picture of our very elementary design 148 00:10:15,075 --> 00:10:19,075 of our telescope, and it's made of petals, 149 00:10:19,075 --> 00:10:22,155 which are foldable like a flower, 150 00:10:22,155 --> 00:10:26,035 so that they can be folded during launch 151 00:10:26,035 --> 00:10:28,875 and opened up once it's in space. 152 00:10:35,795 --> 00:10:40,275 By 2002, the design had evolved. 153 00:10:40,275 --> 00:10:45,155 Instead of a single glass mirror, like Hubble, 154 00:10:45,155 --> 00:10:50,195 Webb's engineers decided to use 18 hexagonal segments. 155 00:10:51,835 --> 00:10:53,475 On the back of each one, 156 00:10:53,475 --> 00:10:58,155 they will install seven motors to move the segment, 157 00:10:58,155 --> 00:11:00,315 so that all 18 can be aligned 158 00:11:00,315 --> 00:11:03,595 to focus light like a single giant mirror. 159 00:11:08,315 --> 00:11:12,155 Motors fold the mirror's sides, 160 00:11:12,155 --> 00:11:15,795 so it fits into the rocket that will take it to space. 161 00:11:23,315 --> 00:11:25,755 September, 2003. 162 00:11:25,755 --> 00:11:28,915 Work begins building the telescope, 163 00:11:28,915 --> 00:11:30,675 now named James Webb, 164 00:11:30,675 --> 00:11:34,955 after the NASA director who led the 1960s race to the moon. 165 00:11:38,315 --> 00:11:41,395 Shaping the giant segments of the largest mirror 166 00:11:41,395 --> 00:11:45,995 ever sent into space is an engineering challenge. 167 00:11:51,235 --> 00:11:56,275 Jay Daniel leads the team that must make them precisely the right shape. 168 00:11:58,275 --> 00:12:01,195 The challenge is we have 18 different hexagonal segments 169 00:12:01,195 --> 00:12:02,875 that form up the primary mirror. 170 00:12:02,875 --> 00:12:05,475 And so you need the curve of the entire surface 171 00:12:05,475 --> 00:12:08,555 to be as near perfect as possible. 172 00:12:08,555 --> 00:12:13,595 The segments are made of a lightweight metal called beryllium. 173 00:12:13,595 --> 00:12:17,435 To shape them, engineers had to develop new technology. 174 00:12:19,915 --> 00:12:23,035 You see these very large machines behind me here? 175 00:12:23,035 --> 00:12:27,515 These were custom-designed and built to process the James Webb mirrors. 176 00:12:28,515 --> 00:12:31,915 The machines must polish a smooth curve. 177 00:12:31,915 --> 00:12:35,835 Any bumps must be smaller than 1/5,000th 178 00:12:35,835 --> 00:12:37,155 of the width of a human hair. 179 00:12:39,915 --> 00:12:41,915 If the mirror was the size of the United States, 180 00:12:41,915 --> 00:12:44,795 we'd be talking about bumps that were a few centimetres, 181 00:12:44,795 --> 00:12:46,795 a few inches tall. 182 00:12:46,795 --> 00:12:48,955 You know, awfully smooth! 183 00:12:51,875 --> 00:12:54,155 Even with eight new machines, 184 00:12:54,155 --> 00:12:58,035 it takes Jay's team two-and-a-half years 185 00:12:58,035 --> 00:13:01,995 to polish perfect surfaces on all 18 mirrors. 186 00:13:08,155 --> 00:13:13,435 If they get it right, the mirrors will reflect pin-sharp images 187 00:13:13,435 --> 00:13:17,355 of distant galaxies into the James Webb Space Telescope. 188 00:13:21,155 --> 00:13:23,355 But to see deeper into space 189 00:13:23,355 --> 00:13:26,235 and further back in time than Hubble, 190 00:13:26,235 --> 00:13:31,795 the telescope also needs to detect light that Hubble can't see. 191 00:13:36,995 --> 00:13:38,835 Before the launch of Webb, 192 00:13:38,835 --> 00:13:41,875 the oldest object we'd seen is this, 193 00:13:41,875 --> 00:13:45,155 Galaxy GN-z11. 194 00:13:48,555 --> 00:13:50,955 This is just a tiny little dot of light 195 00:13:50,955 --> 00:13:53,435 at the limit of our instruments. 196 00:13:53,435 --> 00:13:57,035 And we actually found that it was 400 million years 197 00:13:57,035 --> 00:13:58,875 after the Big Bang. 198 00:13:58,875 --> 00:14:04,355 And, so, that means we're looking back in time 13.4 billion years, 199 00:14:04,355 --> 00:14:09,595 13,400 million years of time, to see this object. 200 00:14:11,955 --> 00:14:17,195 But this tantalising glimpse is as far as Hubble can see. 201 00:14:20,035 --> 00:14:23,915 To see further, Webb must detect a type of light 202 00:14:23,915 --> 00:14:26,155 invisible to the human eye. 203 00:14:28,555 --> 00:14:31,835 That's because light from very distant galaxies 204 00:14:31,835 --> 00:14:35,875 changes on its long journey through space. 205 00:14:40,795 --> 00:14:44,955 Ever since the Big Bang, the universe has been expanding. 206 00:14:46,795 --> 00:14:49,435 Light from the first stars has been travelling 207 00:14:49,435 --> 00:14:53,315 through this expanding universe for billions of years. 208 00:14:54,795 --> 00:14:59,075 As space expands, the wavelength of the light passing through it 209 00:14:59,075 --> 00:15:00,875 gets longer... 210 00:15:02,355 --> 00:15:06,595 ..which means the colour of the light shifts towards the red end 211 00:15:06,595 --> 00:15:08,595 of the light spectrum. 212 00:15:10,235 --> 00:15:12,875 As the light becomes redder and redder, 213 00:15:12,875 --> 00:15:16,275 it eventually moves from being visible 214 00:15:16,275 --> 00:15:18,755 into the invisible infrared. 215 00:15:20,875 --> 00:15:24,635 So, starlight that could have begun as visible light, 216 00:15:24,635 --> 00:15:27,795 travelling for billions of years across the expansion 217 00:15:27,795 --> 00:15:31,155 of the universe, it's now stretched out into infrared. 218 00:15:34,155 --> 00:15:35,995 So, if you go into the infrared, 219 00:15:35,995 --> 00:15:39,835 you can see many, many of these distant, long-ago objects. 220 00:15:43,355 --> 00:15:47,995 To see the first stars and galaxies, the James Webb Space Telescope 221 00:15:47,995 --> 00:15:51,275 must be able to detect that infrared light. 222 00:15:56,315 --> 00:15:58,355 Although we can't see it, 223 00:15:58,355 --> 00:16:00,715 infrared light is all around us. 224 00:16:04,475 --> 00:16:08,715 We can actually feel infrared light. It's a heat energy. 225 00:16:08,715 --> 00:16:11,155 So, the sun, for instance, gives out visible light, 226 00:16:11,155 --> 00:16:14,195 but it also gives out infrared and we can feel it on our skin. 227 00:16:15,635 --> 00:16:19,075 So, although we can't see this light, we can feel it. 228 00:16:19,075 --> 00:16:23,555 But, also, we can make sensors that can actually pick up this light, 229 00:16:23,555 --> 00:16:26,275 which is very useful in astronomy. 230 00:16:26,275 --> 00:16:29,795 This is where you can actually see things in the dark. 231 00:16:31,875 --> 00:16:35,115 And now an entirely different universe lights up 232 00:16:35,115 --> 00:16:37,955 because by warm, we mean basically anything with any temperature, 233 00:16:37,955 --> 00:16:40,675 things that are incredibly cold to humans, 234 00:16:40,675 --> 00:16:44,675 things that are hundreds of degrees below zero. 235 00:16:44,675 --> 00:16:46,955 You could actually see the glow. 236 00:16:51,915 --> 00:16:55,195 Getting an infrared telescope to work in space 237 00:16:55,195 --> 00:16:56,675 is a huge challenge. 238 00:16:58,475 --> 00:17:03,995 The telescope will be exposed to the full glare of the sun, 239 00:17:03,995 --> 00:17:05,875 which will cause it to heat up 240 00:17:05,875 --> 00:17:08,675 and give off its own infrared radiation. 241 00:17:11,435 --> 00:17:14,435 This would drown out the much fainter infrared light 242 00:17:14,435 --> 00:17:16,515 coming from distant galaxies. 243 00:17:18,475 --> 00:17:21,755 For the telescope to work, engineers must find a way 244 00:17:21,755 --> 00:17:24,075 to make it extremely cold. 245 00:17:28,835 --> 00:17:31,955 They have one thing on their side. 246 00:17:31,955 --> 00:17:34,395 Although the sun is hot, 247 00:17:34,395 --> 00:17:36,675 space itself is cold. 248 00:17:37,875 --> 00:17:41,475 Basically, you know, the universe is a giant refrigerator. 249 00:17:41,475 --> 00:17:44,675 So if you put something out there and you shield it from the sun, 250 00:17:44,675 --> 00:17:46,435 it's going to get cold. 251 00:17:49,075 --> 00:17:52,115 The temperature of space where they will send Webb 252 00:17:52,115 --> 00:17:55,515 is -266 Celsius. 253 00:17:55,515 --> 00:17:58,235 Only seven degrees above absolute zero. 254 00:18:02,275 --> 00:18:08,155 So if the Webb's engineers design a large parasol to reflect the heat 255 00:18:08,155 --> 00:18:12,435 of the sun away, 256 00:18:12,435 --> 00:18:16,275 temperatures on the dark side should drop dramatically. 257 00:18:17,515 --> 00:18:21,995 But making this vast sunshield is one of the biggest challenges 258 00:18:21,995 --> 00:18:23,475 of the whole project. 259 00:18:25,715 --> 00:18:29,675 The sunshield is probably the most complex, from a design standpoint. 260 00:18:29,675 --> 00:18:32,515 It has to keep one side of the telescope extremely cold, 261 00:18:32,515 --> 00:18:34,915 pretty close to absolute zero, 262 00:18:34,915 --> 00:18:37,395 and very warm on the other side. 263 00:18:40,875 --> 00:18:45,275 The side of the shield that faces the sun will get almost as hot 264 00:18:45,275 --> 00:18:47,755 as boiling water. 265 00:18:47,755 --> 00:18:52,035 The cold side must remain cooler than liquid nitrogen. 266 00:18:53,675 --> 00:18:57,755 The whole mission depends on the sunshield design working. 267 00:19:01,795 --> 00:19:04,635 Huntsville, Alabama. 268 00:19:07,675 --> 00:19:12,515 In August 2013, construction begins on the giant sunshield. 269 00:19:14,795 --> 00:19:18,275 Mike Helba is the manufacturer's chief scientist. 270 00:19:21,915 --> 00:19:24,955 The design actually is very complex. 271 00:19:24,955 --> 00:19:27,755 It can't be just an insulating blanket. 272 00:19:29,275 --> 00:19:31,475 Part of the design of the sunshield, 273 00:19:31,475 --> 00:19:34,315 it allows the heat to radiate out into space. 274 00:19:37,035 --> 00:19:39,395 To shade the entire telescope, 275 00:19:39,395 --> 00:19:42,515 the sunshield will have to be enormous, 276 00:19:42,515 --> 00:19:45,035 about the size of a tennis court. 277 00:19:47,315 --> 00:19:50,115 To block almost all the sun's heat, 278 00:19:50,115 --> 00:19:56,035 it will need to be made of five layers of reflective material, 279 00:19:56,035 --> 00:19:58,875 so heat that passes through one layer 280 00:19:58,875 --> 00:20:02,355 will be reflected out the sides by the next. 281 00:20:04,755 --> 00:20:08,395 The only way to get it into space is to fold it up. 282 00:20:14,715 --> 00:20:18,555 But, once there, it will have to unfold. 283 00:20:18,555 --> 00:20:22,515 The riskiest operation of the whole mission. 284 00:20:26,595 --> 00:20:30,755 The sunshield material needs to be extremely thin 285 00:20:30,755 --> 00:20:35,035 so it can be folded many times to make it small. 286 00:20:35,035 --> 00:20:38,955 But it also needs to be strong enough not to snag or tear 287 00:20:38,955 --> 00:20:40,155 when it unfolds. 288 00:20:41,995 --> 00:20:45,795 NASA uses a space-age polymer called Kapton. 289 00:20:47,275 --> 00:20:51,715 It's thinner than a human hair but almost as strong as steel. 290 00:20:55,235 --> 00:20:59,195 So, that one pulled 37.9 lb. Pretty good. 291 00:21:01,715 --> 00:21:05,715 A special pink silicone coating on the layer of the sunshield 292 00:21:05,715 --> 00:21:10,435 that faces the sun will reflect about 90% of the sun's heat. 293 00:21:12,195 --> 00:21:17,155 The next four layers must reflect the remaining heat out of the sides. 294 00:21:18,635 --> 00:21:22,955 This way, all five layers should progressively cool 295 00:21:22,955 --> 00:21:24,995 the telescope. 296 00:21:24,995 --> 00:21:27,995 To direct the heat out of the sides, 297 00:21:27,995 --> 00:21:31,755 the sunshield layers must be closer together in the middle 298 00:21:31,755 --> 00:21:33,115 than at the edges. 299 00:21:38,515 --> 00:21:43,035 This means that each layer must have a slightly different shape. 300 00:21:45,115 --> 00:21:49,155 The material comes in rolls that are about four foot wide. 301 00:21:49,155 --> 00:21:52,315 So we cut them to shape on our cutting table. 302 00:21:53,635 --> 00:21:57,755 And they're seamed together into the shape of the sunshield. 303 00:21:58,915 --> 00:22:01,755 You have to be careful, because it's thin. It can tear. 304 00:22:03,795 --> 00:22:06,675 The membrane pieces are cut flat. 305 00:22:06,675 --> 00:22:09,875 But they're designed so that when they're welded together, they take 306 00:22:09,875 --> 00:22:11,915 on a three-dimensional shape. 307 00:22:15,355 --> 00:22:20,355 The team spends the next three years manufacturing all five layers 308 00:22:20,355 --> 00:22:21,555 of the sunshield. 309 00:22:29,555 --> 00:22:32,235 Cooled to its operating temperature, 310 00:22:32,235 --> 00:22:36,235 the James Webb Telescope will allow astronomers to explore 311 00:22:36,235 --> 00:22:40,315 the mysterious time that lies beyond the reach of Hubble. 312 00:22:42,795 --> 00:22:45,115 LOUD BANG 313 00:22:46,675 --> 00:22:50,155 It's a time that starts a few hundred million years 314 00:22:50,155 --> 00:22:51,555 after the Big Bang. 315 00:22:53,155 --> 00:22:57,915 You get the Big Bang, and the universe then cools 316 00:22:57,915 --> 00:22:59,235 for quite a while. 317 00:23:01,075 --> 00:23:03,515 And from a scientist's perspective, it's really boring. 318 00:23:03,515 --> 00:23:07,795 There's nothing to see, because light doesn't get out. 319 00:23:07,795 --> 00:23:10,035 And then something changes. 320 00:23:10,035 --> 00:23:12,675 Parts of the universe are able to cool enough 321 00:23:12,675 --> 00:23:18,875 that matter is able to condense and form the first stars. 322 00:23:24,835 --> 00:23:29,275 Approximately 13.6 billion years ago, 323 00:23:29,275 --> 00:23:31,955 out of the darkness came light. 324 00:23:33,835 --> 00:23:37,915 But no-one knows exactly how those first stars were born. 325 00:23:42,675 --> 00:23:47,755 In the dark, cooling universe, the only elements that existed 326 00:23:47,755 --> 00:23:51,035 were those formed in the Big Bang. 327 00:23:51,035 --> 00:23:55,315 Hydrogen, helium and a small amount of lithium. 328 00:23:57,555 --> 00:24:02,515 The scientists' working theory is that giant clouds of these gases 329 00:24:02,515 --> 00:24:07,515 collapsed under their own gravity to create the first stars. 330 00:24:09,315 --> 00:24:11,195 But no-one has seen them. 331 00:24:12,875 --> 00:24:15,355 They weren't stars like we know stars. 332 00:24:15,355 --> 00:24:17,435 Stars have evolved over time. 333 00:24:18,875 --> 00:24:21,395 These early stars were made out of the matter 334 00:24:21,395 --> 00:24:23,555 that was around in the universe, and that was mainly 335 00:24:23,555 --> 00:24:25,995 hydrogen and helium. 336 00:24:25,995 --> 00:24:28,075 From our understanding they were huge, 337 00:24:28,075 --> 00:24:31,875 maybe 100 times the mass of our sun. 338 00:24:31,875 --> 00:24:36,155 We think those were probably pretty big stars and we think they probably 339 00:24:36,155 --> 00:24:39,435 didn't last very long, that they were very bright 340 00:24:39,435 --> 00:24:42,435 and then blew themselves up very quickly. 341 00:24:45,275 --> 00:24:48,955 Astrophysicists think the intense temperatures and pressures 342 00:24:48,955 --> 00:24:54,235 inside the first stars transformed hydrogen and helium into a host 343 00:24:54,235 --> 00:24:56,075 of new chemical elements. 344 00:24:58,915 --> 00:25:04,115 When the stars died, their powerful supernova explosions created 345 00:25:04,115 --> 00:25:05,555 even more elements. 346 00:25:08,275 --> 00:25:13,515 From these first stars came the materials to build planets, 347 00:25:13,515 --> 00:25:15,595 including the Earth. 348 00:25:19,755 --> 00:25:25,195 The chemistry of the universe hasn't changed much since that first era. 349 00:25:25,195 --> 00:25:28,595 So what that means is that pretty much everything around us happened 350 00:25:28,595 --> 00:25:29,955 right at the start. 351 00:25:31,795 --> 00:25:36,915 There must have been this incredibly intense era of star formation, maybe 352 00:25:36,915 --> 00:25:39,475 giant stars, everything blowing up. 353 00:25:40,675 --> 00:25:42,755 That's what we're looking for. 354 00:25:43,995 --> 00:25:46,035 Think about how profound that is. 355 00:25:46,035 --> 00:25:48,235 With the James Webb Space Telescope, 356 00:25:48,235 --> 00:25:51,835 we're seeing the first stars come to light, 357 00:25:51,835 --> 00:25:53,115 that initial creation 358 00:25:53,115 --> 00:25:55,995 of the elements that lead to things like life. 359 00:26:11,835 --> 00:26:14,515 Redondo Beach, Los Angeles, California. 360 00:26:16,795 --> 00:26:21,955 Here, in a vast clean room, engineers are attempting to unfold 361 00:26:21,955 --> 00:26:23,595 a prototype sunshield. 362 00:26:27,715 --> 00:26:32,155 No-one has ever unfolded a telescope in space before. 363 00:26:32,155 --> 00:26:36,395 It makes this one of NASA's most ambitious missions 364 00:26:36,395 --> 00:26:39,035 since the moon landings. 365 00:26:39,035 --> 00:26:43,915 Webb is on par with Apollo, just the size of it, the complexity, 366 00:26:43,915 --> 00:26:45,955 the reach, scope and so on. 367 00:26:46,955 --> 00:26:51,435 We do a lot of complex, hard missions, and this one is certainly 368 00:26:51,435 --> 00:26:54,155 at the top of that list of complexity. 369 00:26:56,915 --> 00:27:00,955 The engineering team must find a way to unfold the vast sunshield 370 00:27:00,955 --> 00:27:03,595 in space without humans touching it. 371 00:27:08,835 --> 00:27:12,035 Their plan is to use a remote-controlled system 372 00:27:12,035 --> 00:27:15,595 of intricate cables, motors and pulleys. 373 00:27:17,795 --> 00:27:20,475 You know, you're going to need to tension it with some form of cables, 374 00:27:20,475 --> 00:27:23,915 cos this has to start off soft and foldable and then pull 375 00:27:23,915 --> 00:27:26,955 to a taut, you know, tension kind of thing. 376 00:27:30,075 --> 00:27:32,875 They've managed to make it work on Earth. 377 00:27:32,875 --> 00:27:36,275 But in space it will be a high-risk operation. 378 00:27:40,075 --> 00:27:44,995 And the risk is even greater because of where they will position Webb. 379 00:27:50,355 --> 00:27:54,755 They will send the telescope to a location known as the second 380 00:27:54,755 --> 00:27:59,435 Lagrange point, a gravitational sweet spot that helps hold 381 00:27:59,435 --> 00:28:01,395 the spacecraft in position. 382 00:28:04,955 --> 00:28:10,235 Here, it will travel around the sun at the same speed as the Earth 383 00:28:10,235 --> 00:28:11,595 in a special orbit. 384 00:28:15,515 --> 00:28:20,395 In this orbit, the heat from the sun, Earth and moon 385 00:28:20,395 --> 00:28:25,315 always hits the telescope on the same side and can be blocked 386 00:28:25,315 --> 00:28:27,155 with the giant sunshield. 387 00:28:28,315 --> 00:28:31,955 But this position is extremely remote, 388 00:28:31,955 --> 00:28:36,155 four times further away from the Earth than the moon. 389 00:28:36,155 --> 00:28:40,115 Too far to send a repair mission if anything goes wrong. 390 00:28:44,475 --> 00:28:46,835 It's going to be very stressful when we do an on-orbit, 391 00:28:46,835 --> 00:28:49,235 cos it's away from us, cos we can't touch it, right, 392 00:28:49,235 --> 00:28:52,875 cos we can only command the motors. 393 00:28:52,875 --> 00:28:54,995 It's quite nerve-racking, yes. 394 00:28:54,995 --> 00:28:57,035 Webb would be a million miles away. 395 00:28:57,035 --> 00:29:01,875 So it's pretty far out there for humans with our current capability. 396 00:29:03,435 --> 00:29:06,115 It's not designed for repair. 397 00:29:12,195 --> 00:29:16,835 The team building the James Webb Space Telescope only has one chance 398 00:29:16,835 --> 00:29:18,075 to get it right. 399 00:29:19,275 --> 00:29:22,235 It's an £8 billion roll of the dice. 400 00:29:33,715 --> 00:29:34,835 September 2012. 401 00:29:36,715 --> 00:29:38,795 The first mirror segments arrive 402 00:29:38,795 --> 00:29:42,835 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. 403 00:29:46,035 --> 00:29:50,475 The polished mirrors have all been coated in a thin layer of gold, 404 00:29:50,475 --> 00:29:52,835 to better reflect infrared light. 405 00:29:59,035 --> 00:30:03,995 When all the mirrors have arrived, a robot arm fits them to the carbon 406 00:30:03,995 --> 00:30:07,235 composite frame that will hold them together. 407 00:30:11,315 --> 00:30:16,155 After a two-month operation, workers fix the final mirror into place. 408 00:30:22,875 --> 00:30:24,555 In February 2016, 409 00:30:24,555 --> 00:30:30,395 the six-and-a-half-metre-wide primary mirror is finally complete. 410 00:30:43,995 --> 00:30:48,675 This large, high-precision mirror will revolutionise our view 411 00:30:48,675 --> 00:30:49,915 of the universe. 412 00:30:52,635 --> 00:30:56,595 With it, Webb may even detect life on another world. 413 00:31:05,555 --> 00:31:11,155 Planets outside our solar system are known as exoplanets. 414 00:31:14,795 --> 00:31:19,875 Exoplanets excite our imagination because life forms like ourselves 415 00:31:19,875 --> 00:31:20,995 live on planets. 416 00:31:22,955 --> 00:31:25,915 And one of the biggest questions we have is, are we alone 417 00:31:25,915 --> 00:31:27,115 in the universe? 418 00:31:28,915 --> 00:31:31,835 Well, pondering the question is one thing. 419 00:31:31,835 --> 00:31:36,435 Making direct observations and getting a real answer is another. 420 00:31:38,275 --> 00:31:43,715 Despite discovering over 5,000 exoplanets, scientists know 421 00:31:43,715 --> 00:31:45,475 very little about them. 422 00:31:46,955 --> 00:31:51,675 To this date, all we know is a rough idea of the size and the mass 423 00:31:51,675 --> 00:31:54,515 and how close it is to the star. 424 00:31:54,515 --> 00:31:58,635 We don't know whether there are clouds or oceans, whether there's 425 00:31:58,635 --> 00:32:01,235 an environment that would be friendly to life. 426 00:32:01,235 --> 00:32:05,995 All we can give you are the most rudimentary specs of that planet. 427 00:32:07,915 --> 00:32:11,875 If there is life on a planet out there, there is a way Webb 428 00:32:11,875 --> 00:32:13,075 could detect it. 429 00:32:15,995 --> 00:32:20,235 As the planet goes in front of the star, a tiny amount 430 00:32:20,235 --> 00:32:24,755 of the starlight will pass through the atmosphere of the planet. 431 00:32:26,195 --> 00:32:30,435 Webb is fitted with instruments that can analyse that light. 432 00:32:33,075 --> 00:32:36,755 Atmospheres are like a thin rubber band stretched around a basketball. 433 00:32:36,755 --> 00:32:38,755 They're very, very thin. 434 00:32:38,755 --> 00:32:42,635 But we can actually get enough data to analyse what chemicals 435 00:32:42,635 --> 00:32:44,275 are in that atmosphere. 436 00:32:46,675 --> 00:32:50,955 We're entering an age where we can say, "This planet has water, 437 00:32:50,955 --> 00:32:54,835 "this planet has methane, this planet has a temperature 438 00:32:54,835 --> 00:32:56,675 "very similar to ours." 439 00:32:56,675 --> 00:32:59,075 It could even be something as profound as we can detect 440 00:32:59,075 --> 00:33:02,955 the presence of plant life, chlorophyll. 441 00:33:02,955 --> 00:33:07,115 What if we detect a planet that has pollution? 442 00:33:07,115 --> 00:33:11,915 What if we detect some sign of industrial activity, technology? 443 00:33:11,915 --> 00:33:14,715 That's going to get a lot deeper. 444 00:33:14,715 --> 00:33:17,675 We might be on the cusp of saying that there are other beings 445 00:33:17,675 --> 00:33:20,595 up there that might be looking back at us. 446 00:33:28,955 --> 00:33:33,235 With the sunshield and mirror sections of Webb complete, 447 00:33:33,235 --> 00:33:37,075 engineers must put them through a battery of tests to make 448 00:33:37,075 --> 00:33:41,715 sure the telescope can survive the extreme conditions of launch. 449 00:33:42,955 --> 00:33:46,035 One of the toughest is the vibration test. 450 00:33:47,835 --> 00:33:51,595 When a rocket launches, it's violently shaking, right, 451 00:33:51,595 --> 00:33:55,515 cos this explosion is occurring in it. 452 00:33:55,515 --> 00:33:59,955 So we actually put our vehicle on a table here and we shake 453 00:33:59,955 --> 00:34:01,275 it like the rocket. 454 00:34:05,995 --> 00:34:08,635 You know, it's a bit scary to think, you know, you're not trying 455 00:34:08,635 --> 00:34:11,395 to break it, you're trying to prove it works. 456 00:34:11,395 --> 00:34:14,915 But, you know, when you go - and I've watched us do the vibration 457 00:34:14,915 --> 00:34:19,315 test, and all of a sudden you see your vehicle shaking, 458 00:34:19,315 --> 00:34:21,915 you know, like... But you know it's designed for that, 459 00:34:21,915 --> 00:34:25,515 so to watch the vibration test is, you know, you've got to kind 460 00:34:25,515 --> 00:34:27,435 of hold your breath a little bit. 461 00:34:30,635 --> 00:34:35,515 To enable the telescope to survive the violent launch, every part 462 00:34:35,515 --> 00:34:40,755 of it that unfolds must be securely pinned down so it won't shake loose. 463 00:34:45,115 --> 00:34:49,795 Once in space, these pin-down mechanisms must release 464 00:34:49,795 --> 00:34:51,955 or the telescope won't unfold. 465 00:34:55,475 --> 00:34:59,235 The sunshield alone has 107 mechanisms 466 00:34:59,235 --> 00:35:03,395 and all 107 are required to make this thing work. 467 00:35:06,435 --> 00:35:09,755 These critical release mechanisms are manufactured 468 00:35:09,755 --> 00:35:11,955 here in Moorpark, California. 469 00:35:14,795 --> 00:35:19,275 The whole mission depends on these tiny parts operating 470 00:35:19,275 --> 00:35:20,595 without a glitch. 471 00:35:22,315 --> 00:35:26,075 Krystal Puga is the engineer responsible for ensuring 472 00:35:26,075 --> 00:35:27,755 that they will all work. 473 00:35:29,235 --> 00:35:32,155 James Webb is a brand-new system. 474 00:35:32,155 --> 00:35:34,675 It's a complex design. It's new. 475 00:35:34,675 --> 00:35:38,355 It's not like anything that's ever been done before. 476 00:35:40,555 --> 00:35:44,475 To make sure the giant sunshield won't shake loose and become 477 00:35:44,475 --> 00:35:46,675 tangled during launch, 478 00:35:46,675 --> 00:35:52,755 it is pierced with over 1,000 precisely placed holes. 479 00:35:52,755 --> 00:35:56,075 When folded up into its stowed position, 480 00:35:56,075 --> 00:36:02,115 the holes align on top of each other so the sunshield can be held 481 00:36:02,115 --> 00:36:07,995 in place with pins and the 107 release mechanisms. 482 00:36:11,635 --> 00:36:14,915 When we fold up the sunshield membrane, we actually fold 483 00:36:14,915 --> 00:36:16,275 it accordion-style. 484 00:36:17,435 --> 00:36:21,395 So at any one location, you can have 70 layers of membrane 485 00:36:21,395 --> 00:36:22,635 all folded up. 486 00:36:22,635 --> 00:36:24,795 There's holes in every single one of the layers. 487 00:36:24,795 --> 00:36:28,315 They're all aligned so that you can stick a pin through the entire 488 00:36:28,315 --> 00:36:29,795 stack of membranes. 489 00:36:29,795 --> 00:36:32,595 We use a membrane release device... 490 00:36:34,355 --> 00:36:37,035 ..to hold the entire sunshield together. 491 00:36:38,155 --> 00:36:40,315 So, we'll take this specially designed pin 492 00:36:40,315 --> 00:36:43,875 and go through the entire stack of the sunshield membranes. 493 00:36:46,675 --> 00:36:50,675 To protect the folded sunshield, spring-loaded covers 494 00:36:50,675 --> 00:36:52,275 are unrolled over it... 495 00:36:56,155 --> 00:36:58,755 ..and attached to the release devices. 496 00:37:02,035 --> 00:37:05,075 We want everything to be nice and stowed so that it doesn't get 497 00:37:05,075 --> 00:37:08,155 damaged during the launch, and so that it can unfold 498 00:37:08,155 --> 00:37:11,995 in the correct sequence when we deploy it in space. 499 00:37:11,995 --> 00:37:14,555 To release the sunshield, 500 00:37:14,555 --> 00:37:19,075 everything inside each release mechanism must work without a hitch. 501 00:37:20,715 --> 00:37:24,915 Engineers will send an electric current that melts a fuse... 502 00:37:26,195 --> 00:37:28,635 ..that uncoils a spring... 503 00:37:28,635 --> 00:37:30,315 ..that splits a nut... 504 00:37:30,315 --> 00:37:32,275 ..that frees the pin... 505 00:37:35,955 --> 00:37:38,795 ..that unfastens the spring-rolled cover... 506 00:37:41,315 --> 00:37:43,435 ..that releases the sunshield. 507 00:37:51,595 --> 00:37:56,675 All 107 release mechanisms must work for the covers to roll back. 508 00:38:00,515 --> 00:38:04,595 If just one fails, the sunshield won't unfold 509 00:38:04,595 --> 00:38:06,635 and the telescope won't work. 510 00:38:08,635 --> 00:38:12,955 Over 30 years of effort will have all been for nothing. 511 00:38:17,195 --> 00:38:20,155 What we're going to do to ensure that every single one of them 512 00:38:20,155 --> 00:38:23,715 actuates properly is test, test, test. 513 00:38:25,595 --> 00:38:28,995 Today, Krystal and the team are preparing to test one 514 00:38:28,995 --> 00:38:33,235 of the mechanisms to check that it quickly releases the pin. 515 00:38:34,915 --> 00:38:36,435 Countdown. Ready? 516 00:38:36,435 --> 00:38:39,195 Three, two, one. 517 00:38:39,195 --> 00:38:40,155 Fire! 518 00:38:43,435 --> 00:38:47,235 The test measures how long it takes to melt the fuse. 519 00:38:48,675 --> 00:38:55,075 So, it looks like the fuse of our burn time here is around 17.6 520 00:38:55,075 --> 00:38:58,355 milliseconds, which is well below the maximum. Well below the required, yeah. 521 00:39:01,675 --> 00:39:07,715 They have tested over 1,500 release mechanisms to be as sure 522 00:39:07,715 --> 00:39:12,635 as they can that the ones they fit to the telescope will work 523 00:39:12,635 --> 00:39:14,115 when it reaches space. 524 00:39:15,675 --> 00:39:18,515 At the very end of the day, all you can do is hope 525 00:39:18,515 --> 00:39:20,755 that everything works out well. 526 00:39:21,795 --> 00:39:25,035 We have one shot to make this right. 527 00:39:25,035 --> 00:39:27,675 It's got to work. It's got to work. 528 00:39:34,555 --> 00:39:35,595 March 2021. 529 00:39:37,075 --> 00:39:40,275 ECHOEY SHOUT: How do we look on the left side? 530 00:39:40,275 --> 00:39:44,315 In the clean room in Los Angeles, technicians fold up the completed 531 00:39:44,315 --> 00:39:46,355 telescope ready for launch. 532 00:39:49,235 --> 00:39:53,075 When you stow Webb for the last time on Earth, you're setting, 533 00:39:53,075 --> 00:39:57,115 really, the condition in which it's kind of determined, its probability 534 00:39:57,115 --> 00:39:58,235 of success in orbit. 535 00:39:58,235 --> 00:40:00,355 It's as simple as that. 536 00:40:01,995 --> 00:40:04,035 Top of the list of things to do 537 00:40:04,035 --> 00:40:06,875 on the world's most expensive camera - 538 00:40:06,875 --> 00:40:09,315 remember to remove the lens cap. 539 00:40:14,355 --> 00:40:17,435 The folding takes a long time, about a month. 540 00:40:18,475 --> 00:40:21,715 It is critical if you think about folding up a parachute, right? 541 00:40:21,715 --> 00:40:24,675 And then you have to go jump out of a plane. 542 00:40:24,675 --> 00:40:26,995 So it has to be very meticulous. 543 00:40:39,235 --> 00:40:42,075 After carefully folding the telescope, 544 00:40:42,075 --> 00:40:46,075 the team encases it in its purpose-built container 545 00:40:46,075 --> 00:40:48,595 to keep its pristine mirrors clean 546 00:40:48,595 --> 00:40:50,955 on the journey to the launch site 547 00:40:50,955 --> 00:40:52,195 in South America. 548 00:40:54,195 --> 00:40:57,235 I'm in the space industry for 32 years, 549 00:40:57,235 --> 00:40:59,475 12 of them on Webb, right? 550 00:40:59,475 --> 00:41:00,755 So a third of my career. 551 00:41:03,075 --> 00:41:05,035 So when the vehicle left, 552 00:41:05,035 --> 00:41:07,915 it really felt like when my daughters left to go to school, 553 00:41:07,915 --> 00:41:10,315 you're proud. You want them to go on. 554 00:41:10,315 --> 00:41:13,075 It's kind of their step to be out on their own. 555 00:41:13,075 --> 00:41:14,715 But at the same time, 556 00:41:14,715 --> 00:41:16,195 you're already missing them, right? 557 00:41:17,355 --> 00:41:19,075 The day that they leave, you're like, 558 00:41:19,075 --> 00:41:21,835 "Oh, are they going to be OK," right, "on their own?" 559 00:41:29,595 --> 00:41:31,155 From Los Angeles... 560 00:41:31,155 --> 00:41:34,395 ..a ship designed to transport rocket parts 561 00:41:34,395 --> 00:41:37,275 carries the James Webb Space Telescope 562 00:41:37,275 --> 00:41:39,235 on a 16-day journey 563 00:41:39,235 --> 00:41:42,755 to its launch site in French Guiana. 564 00:41:52,115 --> 00:41:54,115 October 2021. 565 00:41:55,315 --> 00:41:58,275 The European Space Agency's Kourou Spaceport. 566 00:42:03,755 --> 00:42:05,715 Over the next two months, 567 00:42:05,715 --> 00:42:09,675 engineers prepare the telescope for launch. 568 00:42:09,675 --> 00:42:14,035 They run final checks to ensure its systems have survived the journey... 569 00:42:17,075 --> 00:42:21,355 ..and fill it with the fuel that it will use to maintain its orbit. 570 00:42:24,395 --> 00:42:28,675 Then they lower it into the nose of an Ariane 5 rocket. 571 00:42:42,515 --> 00:42:44,715 Baltimore, Maryland. 572 00:42:44,715 --> 00:42:47,155 Mission Control for the telescope 573 00:42:47,155 --> 00:42:49,355 once it's in space. 574 00:42:51,635 --> 00:42:55,915 Carl Starr waits to take command of the spacecraft 575 00:42:55,915 --> 00:42:58,115 30 minutes after liftoff. 576 00:42:59,555 --> 00:43:02,155 I'm the Mission Operations Manager - or the Mom. 577 00:43:02,155 --> 00:43:04,795 So, everybody just calls me Mom. 578 00:43:04,795 --> 00:43:06,715 That's me. 579 00:43:06,715 --> 00:43:10,715 All stations, this is Mom on ops. All stations, this is Mom on ops. 580 00:43:10,715 --> 00:43:12,875 Copy that, Mom. 581 00:43:12,875 --> 00:43:17,395 Carl will be responsible for unfolding the telescope in space. 582 00:43:18,675 --> 00:43:22,075 What's challenging is, it's just never been done before. 583 00:43:22,075 --> 00:43:25,635 I always tell people my "aha!" moments. 584 00:43:25,635 --> 00:43:26,995 We launch and we don't blow up. 585 00:43:26,995 --> 00:43:29,595 That's a good one. I'm good there. 586 00:43:29,595 --> 00:43:31,515 That'll be a big relief. 587 00:43:31,515 --> 00:43:34,275 Two, we separate from the launch vehicle. 588 00:43:34,275 --> 00:43:36,835 At that point, I know we've got a chance, 589 00:43:36,835 --> 00:43:38,675 because I can't control the launch vehicle. 590 00:43:38,675 --> 00:43:40,555 There's nothing against the launch vehicle - 591 00:43:40,555 --> 00:43:42,995 it's a reliable, great launch vehicle, don't get me wrong - 592 00:43:42,995 --> 00:43:46,115 but I have nothing to do with it. I can't control it. Nothing. 593 00:43:46,115 --> 00:43:48,675 But the moment we separate from there, 594 00:43:48,675 --> 00:43:49,995 now we've got a chance. 595 00:43:49,995 --> 00:43:51,955 We've done over 70 rehearsals. 596 00:43:51,955 --> 00:43:53,475 We know this vehicle. 597 00:43:55,795 --> 00:43:59,395 It has taken £8 billion, 598 00:43:59,395 --> 00:44:01,275 18 years 599 00:44:01,275 --> 00:44:04,995 and over 100 million hours of people's time to build. 600 00:44:06,555 --> 00:44:08,275 Now, 601 00:44:08,275 --> 00:44:11,235 on Christmas Day 2021, 602 00:44:11,235 --> 00:44:14,635 the James Webb Space Telescope is ready for launch. 603 00:44:16,515 --> 00:44:19,995 All this work, time and money 604 00:44:19,995 --> 00:44:22,075 sits on top of 669 tonnes 605 00:44:22,075 --> 00:44:24,435 of explosive rocket fuel. 606 00:44:30,715 --> 00:44:32,875 Ready to go. 607 00:44:32,875 --> 00:44:35,875 I go through the same thing every launch. 608 00:44:35,875 --> 00:44:37,955 As you get close to the pad 609 00:44:37,955 --> 00:44:40,795 and certainly close to countdown, 610 00:44:40,795 --> 00:44:43,035 the butterflies are just churning. 611 00:44:45,155 --> 00:44:46,755 Une minute. 612 00:44:48,755 --> 00:44:50,235 All right. 613 00:44:50,235 --> 00:44:53,675 CHATTER 614 00:44:53,675 --> 00:45:00,795 COUNTS DOWN IN FRENCH 615 00:45:07,995 --> 00:45:09,955 And we have engine start. 616 00:45:12,395 --> 00:45:14,355 And liftoff. 617 00:45:14,355 --> 00:45:15,435 Decollage. 618 00:45:15,435 --> 00:45:18,195 "Decollage." Liftoff from a tropical rainforest 619 00:45:18,195 --> 00:45:20,035 to the edge of time itself, 620 00:45:20,035 --> 00:45:23,555 James Webb begins a voyage back to the birth of the universe. 621 00:45:33,915 --> 00:45:36,555 27 minutes after liftoff... 622 00:45:38,155 --> 00:45:40,915 ..Ariane sends Webb on its month-long journey 623 00:45:40,915 --> 00:45:42,835 to its orbiting position - 624 00:45:42,835 --> 00:45:45,555 one and a half million kilometres away. 625 00:46:00,475 --> 00:46:03,955 The team at the launch site have done their job. 626 00:46:03,955 --> 00:46:06,395 Zero five three is complete - 627 00:46:06,395 --> 00:46:09,035 separated from the launch vehicle. 628 00:46:10,075 --> 00:46:12,955 Now it rests on the shoulders of Carl Starr 629 00:46:12,955 --> 00:46:16,715 and the team at the telescope's control hub in Baltimore 630 00:46:16,715 --> 00:46:19,275 to unfold Webb in space. 631 00:46:21,955 --> 00:46:24,875 Deployments start on day three 632 00:46:24,875 --> 00:46:27,515 and that continues for a good ten-plus days. 633 00:46:29,155 --> 00:46:32,195 The team begins by deploying the pallets 634 00:46:32,195 --> 00:46:33,835 that hold the sunshield. 635 00:46:35,275 --> 00:46:36,875 It was very exciting, I must say. 636 00:46:36,875 --> 00:46:38,355 There was a lot of tension. 637 00:46:38,355 --> 00:46:40,515 The pallets came down very easily. 638 00:46:40,515 --> 00:46:42,315 The operation went as planned. 639 00:46:42,315 --> 00:46:43,835 It was really smooth. 640 00:46:47,075 --> 00:46:49,315 Five days after launch, 641 00:46:49,315 --> 00:46:52,315 it's time for the most challenging operation - 642 00:46:52,315 --> 00:46:54,755 unfolding the giant sunshield. 643 00:46:57,555 --> 00:47:00,635 They must start by rolling back the covers. 644 00:47:02,675 --> 00:47:05,275 This is the critical moment 645 00:47:05,275 --> 00:47:08,595 when all 107 release devices must work. 646 00:47:10,995 --> 00:47:13,835 The membrane release devices. 647 00:47:13,835 --> 00:47:16,475 We fired the whole string, and... 648 00:47:18,315 --> 00:47:20,355 ..that's when we realised 649 00:47:20,355 --> 00:47:21,955 that we had a problem. 650 00:47:28,715 --> 00:47:32,555 If all the release devices fire correctly, 651 00:47:32,555 --> 00:47:34,755 the cover will roll back 652 00:47:34,755 --> 00:47:36,395 and trigger switches 653 00:47:36,395 --> 00:47:38,635 on the edge of the pallet. 654 00:47:38,635 --> 00:47:42,635 The switches send a signal to Mission Control, 655 00:47:42,635 --> 00:47:46,235 telling them that the cover has rolled back. 656 00:47:46,235 --> 00:47:48,635 But what happened is we didn't see that. 657 00:47:48,635 --> 00:47:51,835 We never saw the switches activate, 658 00:47:51,835 --> 00:47:53,235 so we stopped. 659 00:47:54,795 --> 00:47:55,955 We're not getting it. 660 00:47:58,075 --> 00:48:00,355 So the next thing is to fire it again. 661 00:48:00,355 --> 00:48:01,995 So we fired again and... 662 00:48:03,195 --> 00:48:04,515 ..it didn't work. 663 00:48:06,155 --> 00:48:09,715 It looks like there may be a problem with the release devices. 664 00:48:11,315 --> 00:48:13,555 Maybe not all of them fired, 665 00:48:13,555 --> 00:48:16,115 maybe not all of them actually released. 666 00:48:17,795 --> 00:48:19,875 It was very serious. 667 00:48:19,875 --> 00:48:23,195 I'm not sure how to describe it but, again, it got very quiet 668 00:48:23,195 --> 00:48:25,755 and people became very solemn. 669 00:48:28,435 --> 00:48:32,235 The team fears they have lost the telescope. 670 00:48:32,235 --> 00:48:35,715 So after a good day, day-and-a-half or so, 671 00:48:35,715 --> 00:48:39,475 we realised that we'd already tried everything, electrically, 672 00:48:39,475 --> 00:48:41,195 we could do, mechanically... 673 00:48:43,835 --> 00:48:46,275 ..and then it was a thermal engineer 674 00:48:46,275 --> 00:48:47,675 that came to the rescue 675 00:48:47,675 --> 00:48:49,955 and he said, "I'm seeing these temperatures 676 00:48:49,955 --> 00:48:52,835 "and I'm telling you, the only way that you can get those temperatures 677 00:48:52,835 --> 00:48:54,275 "is if there's nothing in the way. 678 00:48:54,275 --> 00:48:56,035 "So, therefore, it must have unrolled. 679 00:48:56,035 --> 00:48:58,035 "It just didn't hit the switch." 680 00:48:59,475 --> 00:49:01,515 When they told us that... 681 00:49:01,515 --> 00:49:04,995 ..the looks on everybody's faces, the relief. 682 00:49:04,995 --> 00:49:07,795 And from that moment on, we just never looked back. 683 00:49:11,075 --> 00:49:14,555 They can now unfold the giant sunshield. 684 00:49:16,355 --> 00:49:18,795 Inside the telescopic poles, 685 00:49:18,795 --> 00:49:22,275 electric motors start pushing out the mid booms. 686 00:49:29,875 --> 00:49:33,995 Now eight motors pulling on 90 cables, 687 00:49:33,995 --> 00:49:36,435 running over 400 pulleys, 688 00:49:36,435 --> 00:49:39,275 separate the sunshield's five layers. 689 00:49:42,435 --> 00:49:46,035 Mom, I can confirm that all five layers of the sunshield 690 00:49:46,035 --> 00:49:47,995 are fully tensioned. 691 00:49:51,875 --> 00:49:52,915 Thank you. 692 00:49:54,075 --> 00:49:55,835 Significant milestone accomplished. 693 00:49:55,835 --> 00:49:58,675 Job well done, Sunshield Team. Job well done. 694 00:50:01,475 --> 00:50:05,715 11 days after launch, the team deploys the secondary mirror... 695 00:50:10,475 --> 00:50:14,435 ..then moves the first wing of the primary mirror into position. 696 00:50:17,835 --> 00:50:20,115 Two weeks after launch, 697 00:50:20,115 --> 00:50:22,755 they start the final deployment - 698 00:50:22,755 --> 00:50:26,235 unfolding the mirror's second wing. 699 00:50:27,635 --> 00:50:29,315 The wing comes out pretty quick... 700 00:50:31,275 --> 00:50:33,835 ..but then a series of latching manoeuvres, 701 00:50:33,835 --> 00:50:37,675 to establish a load on that tight fit, has to occur. 702 00:50:37,675 --> 00:50:38,995 3,000. 703 00:50:41,035 --> 00:50:42,035 2,000. 704 00:50:44,275 --> 00:50:45,275 1,000. 705 00:50:47,555 --> 00:50:51,435 And we have a fully deployed JWST. 706 00:50:51,435 --> 00:50:55,715 CHEERING 707 00:51:06,235 --> 00:51:09,195 The telescope is finally fully unfolded. 708 00:51:23,715 --> 00:51:26,155 30 days after launch, 709 00:51:26,155 --> 00:51:29,155 the James Webb telescope fires a thruster... 710 00:51:33,315 --> 00:51:36,035 ..and moves into its operational orbit. 711 00:51:40,155 --> 00:51:44,435 Over the next few months, as it cools to its operating temperature, 712 00:51:44,435 --> 00:51:47,875 optical engineers line up and focus the mirrors. 713 00:51:52,475 --> 00:51:54,555 When the mirrors are first deployed, 714 00:51:54,555 --> 00:51:59,035 they could be off by almost a millimetre from one another. 715 00:51:59,035 --> 00:52:01,075 And we need to align them, ultimately, 716 00:52:01,075 --> 00:52:04,835 as though they're a single mirror where, from one mirror to the next, 717 00:52:04,835 --> 00:52:07,235 the surface is aligned to each other 718 00:52:07,235 --> 00:52:09,555 to a fraction of a wavelength of light, 719 00:52:09,555 --> 00:52:11,515 about 1/5,000th of a human hair. 720 00:52:15,555 --> 00:52:18,755 The seven motors on the back of each mirror 721 00:52:18,755 --> 00:52:20,795 will push and pull them into shape. 722 00:52:23,115 --> 00:52:26,635 So we point it at a bright, isolated star, and the first thing we got 723 00:52:26,635 --> 00:52:28,835 were 18 separate spots, 724 00:52:28,835 --> 00:52:31,355 one for each of the primary mirror segments, 725 00:52:31,355 --> 00:52:34,395 because they hadn't been aligned at all. 726 00:52:34,395 --> 00:52:37,035 So that was the very first thing we saw. 727 00:52:37,035 --> 00:52:40,235 And eventually we were able to identify which spot 728 00:52:40,235 --> 00:52:42,835 was with which mirror segment. 729 00:52:42,835 --> 00:52:46,235 And then we were able to align those into a nice, little array. 730 00:52:48,595 --> 00:52:53,075 The 18 spots of light are all images of the same star. 731 00:52:54,675 --> 00:52:59,555 Engineers make microscopic movements of Webb's mirrors... 732 00:53:00,995 --> 00:53:02,675 ..to bring the spots together... 733 00:53:04,235 --> 00:53:06,075 ..to form a single image. 734 00:53:15,835 --> 00:53:17,995 With the telescope fully aligned, 735 00:53:17,995 --> 00:53:21,395 astronomers start taking the first science images. 736 00:53:22,715 --> 00:53:25,355 So it looks like we've got new data 737 00:53:25,355 --> 00:53:27,395 and I'm opening the files now 738 00:53:27,395 --> 00:53:28,395 to get a look. 739 00:53:29,635 --> 00:53:32,555 Science visuals developer Joe DePasquale 740 00:53:32,555 --> 00:53:35,395 will turn the raw black-and-white images 741 00:53:35,395 --> 00:53:37,235 into colour pictures. 742 00:53:37,235 --> 00:53:38,755 That is so amazingly sharp. 743 00:53:40,195 --> 00:53:43,635 To do this, he borrows a technique used on Hubble. 744 00:53:46,275 --> 00:53:48,515 Instead of using a colour camera, 745 00:53:48,515 --> 00:53:51,995 Webb takes a sequence of black-and-white photos 746 00:53:51,995 --> 00:53:54,395 through different coloured filters. 747 00:53:56,235 --> 00:54:00,635 Each filter lets through different wavelengths of infrared light. 748 00:54:04,275 --> 00:54:06,195 The three black-and-white photos 749 00:54:06,195 --> 00:54:08,995 are coloured red, green and blue... 750 00:54:10,235 --> 00:54:13,275 ..and then combined to produce a colour image. 751 00:54:18,995 --> 00:54:22,035 In June 2022, 752 00:54:22,035 --> 00:54:24,795 scientists gather to see the Webb telescope's 753 00:54:24,795 --> 00:54:27,515 first image of distant galaxies. 754 00:54:29,355 --> 00:54:31,595 This is a full-colour draft image 755 00:54:31,595 --> 00:54:34,115 that uses all of the available filters. 756 00:54:34,115 --> 00:54:38,355 OK, let's observe the universe come into focus. 757 00:54:42,235 --> 00:54:44,395 Oh. That's amazing. 758 00:54:50,075 --> 00:54:51,315 Thank you. 759 00:54:51,315 --> 00:54:52,755 Fantastic. 760 00:54:52,755 --> 00:54:54,555 We look at this whole faint... 761 00:54:54,555 --> 00:54:57,355 There's all this extra faint diffuse structure coming in. 762 00:54:57,355 --> 00:54:59,835 There's a sort of a trail of stars coming at you 763 00:54:59,835 --> 00:55:02,075 and there's this whole loop coming out here. 764 00:55:02,075 --> 00:55:03,595 See that galaxy there? 765 00:55:03,595 --> 00:55:06,435 I mean, that's a faint galaxy that you couldn't see with Hubble. 766 00:55:11,595 --> 00:55:13,435 Straight out of the box, 767 00:55:13,435 --> 00:55:16,275 Webb is making new discoveries. 768 00:55:17,355 --> 00:55:19,915 Oh, my God. It's... It's mind-blowing. 769 00:55:20,955 --> 00:55:26,035 The team of experts spotted types of galaxies we hadn't seen before, 770 00:55:26,035 --> 00:55:30,395 and the sharpness we have with Webb was just unbelievable. 771 00:55:30,395 --> 00:55:32,315 It blew my expectations. 772 00:55:33,995 --> 00:55:38,235 Do we think this is the deepest image ever taken of the universe? 773 00:55:39,835 --> 00:55:43,115 It's by far the deepest. By far the deepest at those wavelengths. 774 00:55:46,115 --> 00:55:47,915 In this photo, 775 00:55:47,915 --> 00:55:51,635 taken with an exposure of just 12 hours, 776 00:55:51,635 --> 00:55:55,635 Webb is already seeing further back in time than Hubble. 777 00:56:00,595 --> 00:56:04,795 In the near future, scientists will be doing even deeper fields. 778 00:56:04,795 --> 00:56:08,075 But right now, at this moment, I think it's the deepest one 779 00:56:08,075 --> 00:56:09,875 anybody has done so far. 780 00:56:15,515 --> 00:56:18,155 In July 2022, 781 00:56:18,155 --> 00:56:21,435 NASA releases the first images 782 00:56:21,435 --> 00:56:23,195 from the James Webb Space Telescope. 783 00:56:29,875 --> 00:56:32,835 This is a really big moment for astronomy 784 00:56:32,835 --> 00:56:35,715 and it's a big moment for the world. 785 00:56:35,715 --> 00:56:38,915 This image of the Southern Ring Nebula 786 00:56:38,915 --> 00:56:41,395 captures the dying moments of a star 787 00:56:41,395 --> 00:56:43,435 around 2,000 light years away. 788 00:56:47,435 --> 00:56:50,115 This view of part of the Carina Nebula 789 00:56:50,115 --> 00:56:52,355 shows the intense radiation 790 00:56:52,355 --> 00:56:54,315 of newborn stars 791 00:56:54,315 --> 00:56:57,635 carving away the nebula's wall of dust and gas. 792 00:56:59,035 --> 00:57:03,155 It will help shape our understanding of how stars form and grow. 793 00:57:08,795 --> 00:57:12,875 These pictures are just the start. 794 00:57:12,875 --> 00:57:17,555 For years to come, scientists will study images from Webb 795 00:57:17,555 --> 00:57:23,035 to learn about the origins and the far reaches of the universe. 796 00:57:26,875 --> 00:57:31,195 I fully expect that the data will not only be scientifically 797 00:57:31,195 --> 00:57:33,835 really important, 798 00:57:33,835 --> 00:57:37,475 but will be compelling and awe-inspiring, 799 00:57:37,475 --> 00:57:40,955 and help folks feel connected 800 00:57:40,955 --> 00:57:43,395 to the universe that they're a part of. 801 00:57:45,395 --> 00:57:47,795 We're going to see the universe in a whole new way 802 00:57:47,795 --> 00:57:49,955 that we've never seen it before. 803 00:57:49,955 --> 00:57:51,475 And when we do that, 804 00:57:51,475 --> 00:57:53,355 who knows what we'll discover? 805 00:57:53,355 --> 00:57:54,915 So it is a very exciting time. 806 00:57:58,835 --> 00:58:04,235 I've been following the development of James Webb since I was in school. 807 00:58:04,235 --> 00:58:06,875 I can never even remember a time in my life 808 00:58:06,875 --> 00:58:09,835 where I didn't want to be exploring 809 00:58:09,835 --> 00:58:13,595 and understanding our solar system and the universe - 810 00:58:13,595 --> 00:58:16,235 so it really is a lifelong dream. 811 00:58:18,875 --> 00:58:21,915 Every time you build a new instrument, 812 00:58:21,915 --> 00:58:23,635 you discover new stuff. 813 00:58:23,635 --> 00:58:26,595 And so I trust this is going to happen. 814 00:58:29,235 --> 00:58:31,675 We have to be bold. 815 00:58:31,675 --> 00:58:33,715 In order to get that bold science, 816 00:58:33,715 --> 00:58:36,155 we had to build a bold telescope. 817 00:58:37,715 --> 00:58:40,195 It couldn't have been a better mission 818 00:58:40,195 --> 00:58:43,275 so I'm quite proud to be on it, no doubt about it. 819 00:58:45,115 --> 00:58:48,555 It has taken over 30 years of imagination... 820 00:58:49,755 --> 00:58:51,595 ..invention... 821 00:58:51,595 --> 00:58:53,595 ..and sheer perseverance... 822 00:58:55,435 --> 00:58:59,315 ..to enable the world to finally see the first images... 823 00:59:00,675 --> 00:59:02,835 ..from the James Webb Space Telescope.