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Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
Unlike Hubble, the Webb telescope won't be serviceable. This is a one-shot deal.
I recall that the mirrors on the Hubble were eroded by something like 1000 nanometers after the launch, so the initial images were blurry. Astronauts were able to basically install correction lenses to fix the issue. They considered that this time and made the mirrors from different materials and they have moveable parts so it can at least calibrate in the event of some damage.
I think the riskiest part is that meteors the size of sand or pebbles might shred the heat shield. They reinforced the materials to take that into consideration but it is still a big risk. The Webb telescope won't last forever and is relying a lot on luck since there is no way to know everything that is flying around out there. Much of it is just too small to detect from Earth. Hopefully they get some good years out of it.
I am curious about what practical knowledge they hope to gain from it. All I keep reading is that they want to get images from the early formation of the universe, which sounds super cool. But there seems to be little talk about what practical applications that knowledge will give us. I assume there is something and it isn't just a vanity project, but I really want to know.
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Theres plenty of youtube content on its missions.
On top of the deep dive into the universe,
They're going to really zoom in on close to 4000 known earth like exoplanets and learn their so called genetic make up.
Then They're going to get real up close to celestial bodies like Supernova, Nebulae, dwarf stars and get greater imaging of black holes, and gain greater knowledge on their chemical make up.
It's got a full workload for the ten year lifespan it has.
And they're apparently already working on drone missions to fuel it up in the future.
That is of course, it doesn't get dinged up during its lifespan.