Another reason is the extra engineering risk of the video cameras needing extra power or triggering disturbance with the telescopes delicate electronic devices. If engineers connected wiring harnesses to Webb in order to hold the cams in place, they would cross moving parts of the telescope and run the risk of leaking heat or causing vibrations. Furthermore, considering that the infrared detectors for Webbs instruments need to be at temperature levels near absolute absolutely no to work correctly, visible light cameras may not operate at those temperatures. Any transfer of heat through wires might be a problem.
What about remote cameras on cubesats? Mark McCaughrean, Senior Advisor for Science & & Exploration at the European Space Agency and part of the JWST Science Working Group has been offering a wealth of details on Webb on his Twitter feed. He highlighted what a substantial engineering challenge including cubesats would be, specifically because when Webbs style was settled, cubesats werent yet a feasible alternative. “And how is that cubesat supposed to deploy, station keep, image, brighten, communicate back information, etc all from 1 million km without adding more hardware, restraints, contamination and risk to JWST?”
As the James Webb Space Telescope unfolds and makes its way to its last location in space, NASA and ESA have actually done a great task of sharing the experience with the general public. With webcasts, livestreams and a really active social networks existence, the JWST group has actually permitted individuals to monitor the shoulders of scientists and engineers, in addition to ask questions about the procedure of commissioning the brand-new telescope.
The most typically asked question on social networks and at several interview appears to be, why werent cameras placed on JWST to offer real live video from the telescope? Wouldnt seeing it firsthand be better than just getting telemetry?
” No one would love more to see Webb doing its thing than us,” said Keith Parrish, Commissioning Manager for the Webb telescope, throughout a livestream on NASA TV throughout the final tensioning of the telescopes sunshield.” Adding cams to view an unprecedented, complicated release of such a valuable spacecraft as Webb sounds like a no-brainer,” wrote Paul Geithner, Webbs deputy task technical manager. “Our gold-coated mirrors were photogenic on Earth, but the mirror side of Webb is pitch dark in area,” said Webbs Twitter feed. If engineers attached wiring harnesses to Webb in order to hold the electronic cameras in place, they would cross moving parts of the telescope and run the danger of leaking heat or triggering vibrations. Furthermore, considering that the infrared detectors for Webbs instruments require to be at temperatures near outright no to work appropriately, noticeable light video cameras may not work at those temperature levels.
And how is that cubesat supposed to deploy, station keep, image, light up, relay back data, and so on all from 1 million km without adding more hardware, restraints, contamination, & & danger to JWST? Sure, it may be possible, but Twitter isnt the location to do engineering.– Mark McCaughrean (@markmccaughrean) January 5, 2022
Parrish said that engineers did in fact attempt adding implementation cams to full-scale mock-ups of Webb hardware at one point, however they discovered that the telescopes comprehensive, integrated mechanical, thermal, and electrical sensors offered much better info on its status than electronic cameras could.
” From an engineering viewpoint, the numbers tell us what is actually happening,” he said. “We can take all the telemetry from all the sensors, and manufacture it into a visual for our groups. Maybe if we had actually begun with the first day with the idea of having electronic cameras on board, we could have carried out that.”
Adding cameras in the middle of a currently made complex an unprecedented design would have been made complex– and likely delayed– JWST even more.
The last time we saw JWST on Earth as it was jam-packed inside the Ariane 5 rocket fairing. on December 17, 2021.
Like this: Like Loading …
Screenshot from NASA TV showing the Webb telescope after release from the rocket phase. Credit: NASA.
Rockets now regularly beam back live footage from area as they deploy satellites, (even JWSTs deploy was live), the Perseverance rover had video cameras that revealed its descent to Mars surface, and the Chinese area company has released remote “selfie video cameras” to monitor its Mars rover and orbiter.
” No one would enjoy more to see Webb doing its thing than us,” stated Keith Parrish, Commissioning Manager for the Webb telescope, during a livestream on NASA TV throughout the last tensioning of the telescopes sunshield. “But Webb changes shape a lot, and we would need multiple cameras in multiple locations. The engineering effectiveness of the cams wasnt there unless things got really complex very quick. Plus, its really shiny on one side and really dark on the other– by design. The video cameras would not see anything on the dark side.”
Since the same question keeps coming, NASAs Webb group wrote an article about it, and the @NASAWebb twitter feed posted a thread on the topic.
” Adding electronic cameras to view an unmatched, complicated release of such a precious spacecraft as Webb seems like a no-brainer,” composed Paul Geithner, Webbs deputy project technical manager. “But in Webbs case, theres a lot more to it than satisfies the eye. Its not as uncomplicated as adding a doorbell webcam or perhaps a rocket camera.”
Difficult lighting is among the most apparent difficulties. “Our gold-coated mirrors were photogenic in the world, but the mirror side of Webb is pitch dark in area,” stated Webbs Twitter feed. “Meanwhile, the other, Sun-facing side of Webb is so glossy that electronic cameras there would have glare & & contrast concerns.”
