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Taking advantage of its flexible commissioning schedule, the Webb team has decided to focus today on optimizing Webb's power systems while learning more about how the observatory behaves in space. As a result, the Webb mission operations team has moved the beginning of sunshield tensioning activities to no earlier than tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 3. This will ensure Webb is in prime condition to begin the next major deployment step in its unfolding process. …

Work on the deployment of Webb's sunshield mid-booms went late into the night yesterday. Webb mission management decided this morning to pause deployment activities for today and allow the team to rest and prepare to begin Webb's sunshield tensioning tomorrow, Sunday, Jan. 2. That deployment is still expected to take place over at least two …

With the successful extension of Webb's second sunshield mid-boom, the observatory has passed another critical deployment milestone. Webb's sunshield now resembles its full, kite-shaped form in space. Engineers began to deploy the second (starboard) mid-boom at 6:31 p.m. EST and completed the process at about 10:13 p.m. EST. The completion of the sunshield cover and …

The Webb mission operations team has extended the first of the sunshield's two "arms" – the port (left side) mid-boom. The critical step of the port mid-boom deployment was scheduled to begin earlier in the day. However, the team paused work to confirm that the sunshield cover had fully rolled up as the final preparatory …

Webb's engineers have released and rolled up the sunshield covers that protected the thin layers of Webb's sunshield during launch. After the team electrically activated release devices to release the covers, they executed commands to roll the covers up into a holding position, exposing Webb's sunshield membranes to space for the first time. The deployment, …

Shortly after 9 a.m. EST today, the Webb team completed deployment of the observatory's aft momentum flap. In a process that took about eight minutes, engineers released the flap's hold-down devices, and a spring brought the flap into its final position. The aft momentum flap helps minimize the fuel engineers will need to use throughout …

With Webb's first major structural deployments completed and the observatory's Deployable Tower Assembly extended, we are taking a step back to learn more about Webb's sunshield. Observatory Project Scientist Michael McElwain, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, provided these thoughts: "The Webb telescope and science instruments are ready to enter the shade, never again to …

This afternoon, the Webb team successfully extended the observatory's Deployable Tower Assembly (DTA), creating critical distance between the two halves of the spacecraft. The DTA extended about 48 inches (1.22 meters), putting room between the upper section of the observatory, which houses the mirrors and scientific instruments, and the spacecraft bus, which holds the electronics …

Shortly after 9:00 a.m. EST today, engineering teams began the process of extending Webb's Deployable Tower Assembly (DTA). When deployed, the DTA will create space between the spacecraft and the telescope, to allow for better thermal isolation and provide room for the sunshield to deploy. This deployment is expected to take six or more hours. …

After a successful launch of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Dec. 25, and completion of two mid-course correction maneuvers, the Webb team has analyzed its initial trajectory and determined the observatory should have enough propellant to allow support of science operations in orbit for significantly more than a 10-year science lifetime. (The minimum baseline for …