Following a historic launch in December 2021 and an incredible arrival at Lagrange Point 2 (L2) in January, James Webb Space Telescope teams have been hard at work preparing the telescope for its first observations this summer. On March 16, NASA announced that one of the most critical steps in the commissioning process had been completed — the alignment of all 18 individual mirrors on James Webb’s primary mirror.
Meanwhile, as optics teams were working on aligning the mirror, instrument teams began bringing instruments online as James Webb’s temperature continues to decrease to expected operating levels.