James Webb Telescope Launch: 30 Days of Absolute Horror

The James Webb Telescope is about to finally launch, but it’s not in the clear quite yet. Before we have a fully functioning telescope, the JWST must brave 30 days of space with zero margins for error. The ongoing saga of the telescope is a quarter of a century old. However, in all its years of development, its biggest challenge still lies ahead of it. Optimized for infrared wavelengths to complement and extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, Webb had as many as 2,000 scientists and technicians working on it at once. In total, 10,000 people were involved in its construction over the decades. A true testament to what like-minded humanity is capable of. Thanks to its design, it will have more extended wavelength coverage and greater sensitivity than any other telescope man has ever created. The longer wavelengths enable Webb to look further back in time to find the first galaxies that formed in the early Universe and to peer inside dust clouds where stars and planetary systems are fo