James Webb Space Telescope
NASA/ESA/CSA space telescope launched in 2021
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| May 2024 | JWST detected the farthest known black hole merger within the galaxy system ZS7, occurring 740 million years after the Big Bang, suggesting a fast growth rate for black holes through mergers in the young Universe. |
| May 2024 | JWST identified JADES-GS-z14-0, the most distant known galaxy, seen 290 million years after the Big Bang with a redshift of 14.32. This discovery was part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) and revealed a galaxy more luminous and massive than expected for its early cosmic period. |
| December 2023 | NASA released Christmas holiday-related images from JWST, including the Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster and other astronomical scenes. |
| September 2023 | Two astrophysicists questioned the accepted Standard Model of Cosmology based on the latest JWST studies. |
| July 12 2023 | NASA celebrated the first year of Webb telescope operations by releasing an image of a small star-forming region in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, located 390 light years away. |
| June 2023 | Detection of organic molecules 12 billion light-years away in the galaxy SPT0418-47 using the Webb telescope was announced. |
| May 10 2023 | Cycle 2 General Observer (GO) program was announced by the Space Telescope Science Institute. |
| 2022 | NASA releases an investigation report finding no direct evidence linking James Webb to discriminatory actions during the Lavender Scare. |
| September 2022 | Scientists proposed primordial black holes as an explanation for unexpectedly large and early galaxies observed by Webb. |
| August 24 2022 | A mechanism supporting medium-resolution spectroscopy (MRS) exhibited increased friction during setup for a science observation, specifically involving the grating wheel used to select wavelengths. |
| August 17 2022 | NASA released a large mosaic image of 690 individual frames captured by Webb's NIRCam, showcasing numerous very early galaxies. |
| July 2022 | Gregory L. Robinson retires after completing the telescope's commissioning process and after 33 years at NASA. |
| July 14 2022 | NASA presented infrared images of Jupiter and related areas captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. |
| July 12 2022 | First full-color images and spectroscopic data were officially released, marking the beginning of Webb's general science operations. Images included the Carina Nebula, WASP-96b, Southern Ring Nebula, Stephan's Quintet, and SMACS J0723.3-7327 galaxy cluster. |
| July 11 2022 | U.S. President Joe Biden revealed Webb's First Deep Field image, marking a significant public unveiling of the telescope's capabilities. |
| July 11 2022 | The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) completed its commissioning and was officially ready to begin full scientific operations, marking a significant milestone in space exploration and astronomical research. |
| July 11 2022 | The telescope's first image was released to the public. |
| June 8 2022 | NASA reported the micrometeoroid strike, noting that engineers compensated for the impact using a mirror actuator. Despite the strike, NASA confirmed all telescope observing modes remained ready for scientific use. |
| May 23 2022 | The Webb telescope's C3 mirror segment experienced a significant micrometeoroid strike from a large dust mote-sized particle between May 23-25, which was the fifth and largest strike since launch. |
| February 18 2022 | Phase 1 alignment was officially completed, with the telescope's mirror segments beginning to work towards unified operation. |
| February 11 2022 | NASA announced the telescope had nearly completed phase 1 of alignment, with all primary mirror segments having located and imaged the target star HD 84406, and brought into approximate alignment. |
| February 3 2022 | NASA announced at 19:28 UTC that NIRCam had detected the telescope's first photons, marking an initial milestone in the telescope's commissioning process. |
| January 24 2022 | The James Webb Space Telescope reached its final destination at the L2 Lagrange point after a precise journey that included three planned course corrections to adjust its speed and direction. |
| January 12 2022 | Mirror alignment began while the James Webb Space Telescope was in transit, with primary mirror segments and secondary mirror moved from their protective launch positions. The process involved 132 actuator motors fine-tuning mirror positions with microscopic accuracy of 10 nanometer increments. |
| January 8 2022 | NASA deployed and locked in place the starboard-side wing of the primary mirror, completing the structural deployment of the observatory. |
| January 7 2022 | NASA deployed and locked in place the port-side wing of the primary mirror. |
| January 5 2022 | Mission control successfully deployed the telescope's secondary mirror, which locked into place with a tolerance of about one and a half millimeters. |
| 2021 | Spacecraft bus integrated with the rest of the space telescope, preparing for its launch to space. |
| December 2021 | Final launch plan set for December 2021 with budget further adjusted to 9.70 billion USD |
| December 31 2021 | The ground team extended the two telescoping 'mid booms' from the left and right sides of the observatory. The left side deployed in 3 hours and 19 minutes, while the right side took 3 hours and 42 minutes. |
| December 28 2021 | Mission controllers began the multi-day deployment of Webb's critical sunshield. |
| December 27 2021 | 60 hours after launch, Webb's rockets fired for nine minutes and 27 seconds to make the second of three mid-course corrections, positioning the telescope to arrive at its L2 destination. |
| December 25 2021 | At 7:50 p.m. EST, about 12 hours after launch, the telescope's primary rockets began firing for 65 minutes to make the first of three planned mid-course corrections. |
| December 25 2021 | 27 minutes and 7 seconds after launch, the telescope was released from the upper stage, beginning a 30-day adjustment to place it in a Lissajous orbit around the L2 Lagrange point. |
| December 25 2021 | The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. |
| October 12 2021 | The telescope arrived in French Guiana, preparing for its final launch preparations. |
| September 26 2021 | The telescope was shipped from California, passing through the Panama Canal. |
| March 30 2021 | Selection of Cycle 1 General Observer (GO) programs was announced, with 266 programs approved, including 13 large programs and treasury programs producing data for public access. |
| 2019 | Mission cost cap is increased by US$800 million. |
| August 2019 | Completed the mechanical integration of the telescope, which was originally scheduled to be done in 2007. |
| March 2019 | Updated launch plan for March 2021 with budget increased to 9.66 billion USD |
| 2018 | Gregory L. Robinson is appointed as the new director of the Webb program, improving the program's schedule efficiency from 50% to 95%. |
| 2018 | Initial launch plans for James Webb Space Telescope with budget estimated at ≥8.8 billion USD |
| 2018 | Accidental tears occurred during sunshield deployment testing, leading to significant delays in the telescope's development timeline. |
| March 27 2018 | NASA pushes back the telescope's launch to May 2020 or later, with a final cost estimate pending. |
| November 2017 | Space Telescope Science Institute announced the selection of 13 Director's Discretionary Early Release Science (DD-ERS) programs through a competitive proposal process for the James Webb Space Telescope. |
| 2016 | Construction of the telescope was completed after years of development. |
| November 2016 | Final construction of the Webb telescope was completed, followed by extensive testing procedures. |
| March 3 2016 | Installed the secondary mirror of the telescope. |
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