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The efforts of thousands

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of people across the United States, Canada

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and Europe, for almost two decades achieved

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this milestone. The optical and science

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segment of the largest space telescope ever constructed

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stands complete in one of the largest cleanrooms

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in the world. Ready to endure its

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toughest yet battery of testing.

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Getting to this point wasn't easy. Never mind

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the logistic and construction challenges, this international

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presents, before astrophysicists

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dreams of building Webb could be realized

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ten technologies that did not exist needed to be created

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and perfected. They were.

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To give you a sense of where we are

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in the mission, the Webb telescope consists of three

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main segments. The spacecraft bus, the sunshield and

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the telescope, which includes Webb's instruments.

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This telescope segment of NASA's

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most ambitious space observatory stands complete

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and tall in the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center cleanroom.

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An international team of engineers

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built and tested this revolutionary telescope segment.

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Beyond space flight hardware, the Webb

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mission required building assembly structures

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test facilities

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transportation enclosures.

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[music]

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Engineering copies called 'Pathfinders'

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and even a miniature

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test bed telescope. Revolutionary

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lightweight composite material capable of maintaining its shape to

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one-ten thousandth of a human hair at temperatures near absolute

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zero forms Webb's backplane and science instrument support

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structures. Webb's

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mirror segments began as beryllium ore mined in

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Utah. They crisscrossed the United States to be formed

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lightweighted

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polished

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gold coated and

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finally perfectly placed on the backplane structure

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with the help of a robotic arm.

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Four state of the art science instruments

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from NASA and its international partners, the European

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Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency, were installed

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and tested. Each loaded with advanced components

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and detectors and capable of operating at temperatures near

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absolute zero. Scientists will use these

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instruments to tease out answers to astronomical mysteries near the

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edge of the visible universe, in galaxies closer to home,

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around planets orbiting our star

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and others like it near by.

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The Webb telescope segment now stands complete.

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After launch-phase environment testing at Goddard

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this segment will endure more cryogenic testing at the

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NASA Johnson Space Center. Later the telescope

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will travel to Northrop Grumman in Los Angeles to be

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mated to its sunshield and spacecraft bus, thus

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completing the observatory's assembly. The James

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Webb Space Telescope - our new eye

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on the universe.