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Ultimate Space Telescope | NOVA

Primary Mirror Segment Cryogenic Testing
David Higginbotham
/
NASA/MSFC
Primary Mirror Segment Cryogenic Testing

Wed., Jul. 13 at 9 p.m. on WKAR-HD 23.1 & STREAMING | Discover how NASA engineers built and launched the most ambitious telescope of all time.

How did NASA engineers build and launch the most ambitious telescope of all time? Follow the dramatic story of the James Webb Space Telescope—the most complex machine ever launched into space.

If it works, scientists believe that this new eye on the universe will peer deeper back in time and space than ever before to the birth of galaxies, and may even be able to “sniff” the atmospheres of exoplanets as we search for signs of life beyond Earth.

But getting it to work is no easy task. The telescope is far bigger than its predecessor, the famous Hubble Space Telescope, and it needs to make its observations a million miles away from Earth—so there will be no chance to go out and fix it. That means there’s no room for error; the most ambitious telescope ever built needs to work perfectly.

Watch this episode at video.wkar.org during or after the premiere date. This episode is also available to watch live during its premiere date on the WKAR Livestream.

MORE ABOUT NOVA:
NOVA is the most-watched primetime science series on American television, reaching an average of five million viewers weekly. Now in its fifth decade of production, the series remains committed to producing in-depth science programming in the form of one-hour documentaries and long-form mini-series, from the latest breakthroughs in technology to the deepest mysteries of the natural world.

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