By NASA
December 26, 2021
James Webb Space telescope. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
Shortly after 10 am EST on December 26, the Webb team began the process of launching the gimbaled antenna assembly, or GAA, which includes Webbs high-data-rate meal antenna. This antenna will be utilized to send out at least 28.6 Gbytes of science information down from the observatory, twice a day. The group has now released and checked the movement of the antenna assembly– the whole process took about one hour.
Individually, overnight, the temperature level sensors and stress gauges on the telescope were triggered for the very first time. Temperature level and strain data are now available to engineers keeping an eye on Webbs structural and thermal systems.