2024-01-01 07:23:39
A photographer documents the process of making NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, as part of a 12-year project.
A photographer documents “something special”: the complex effort that led to a new space observatory. If you see any photographs of the James Webb Space Telescope under construction, it’s almost certain that Chris Gunn built it. In 2009, Gunn was selected by NASA as a full-time science and technical photographer to join the engineering team at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. He spent 12 years documenting the making of this observatory, from the arrival of the first “hull” to its launch into space. So did Gann photograph every nut, bolt, and mirror? “In a general sense, yes, but I’m sure there are some nuts and bolts that I didn’t photograph,” he answers with a laugh.
“I think the magic moment comes when you start assembling the big pieces, and one can start calling it a telescope,” he says. “When some of the more exotic parts started showing up, like the mirror, I really knew I was on to something special,” he continues. “And indeed it was.” Some NASA managers consider the James Webb Space Telescope “on par with the Apollo missions,” Gunn says. In terms of being something unprecedented.” This observatory is the largest instrument of its kind, and is now located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. When Gann witnessed the launch of the James Webb Telescope in the town of Kourou, French Guiana, on December 25, 2021, he felt a mixture of joy, anxiety, and hope. “I didn’t shed any tears, but I definitely choked,” he says. “I mean, I was speechless,” he explains. The only other thing I did during that time was maintain my marriage and raise my child; But the project has been a long time coming… and it has been very rewarding.”
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