Elements of Webb: Kapton, Ep06

The Webb Telescope has a tennis court size sunshield made out of a thin material called Kapton. It shields the exposed mirrors and science instruments from the light and heat of the Sun, Earth and moon. How well can a material 1/1,000th of an inch thick work? Find out on this Episode of Elements of Webb.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Sophia Roberts (AIMM): Lead Lead Producer
Sophia Roberts (AIMM): Lead Writer
Sophia Roberts (AIMM): Lead Editor
Sophia Roberts (AIMM): Videographer
Michael McClare (KBRwyle): Lead Videographer
Michael McClare (KBRwyle): Editor
Michael P. Menzel (AIMM): Videographer
Michael P. Menzel (AIMM): Production Assistant
Duncan Wiles: Videographer
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET): Lead Technical Support
Walt Feimer (KBRwyle): Lead Animator
Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (KBRwyle): Animator
Bailee DesRocher (USRA): Animator
Jacquelyn DeMink (USRA): Animator
Krystofer Kim (KBRwyle): Animator
Jonathan North (KBRwyle): Animator
Michael Lentz (KBRwyle): Animator

[jjkusaf]

I've really enjoyed this series. Hopefully NASA will take note and produce similarly engaging videos in the future (a lot of their videos, though interesting, can be very dry).

[ZeroSpawn]

I hope teachers are showing this to high school kids right now. 👏🏾

[starkingpramod]

Eagerly waiting for the launch event. Biggest fan of James Webb Telescope from India

[maskotep]

I couldn't grasp at how thin the carbon layers actually were. Glad we got to see them!

[mikebaginy]

This series is really interesting.
I wonder if the US will ever convert to the metric system of measurements.

[grosserboss]

Why is it not mentioned that the Kapton is just the base layer for a thin aluminum coating? That's what you see: the thin, highly reflective layer of aluminum, probably with an additional protective coating. Kapton is mostly yellowish/brown and resists a wide range of temperatures.

[parag]

Deployment of sunsheild will be painfully exciting

[thescientificwave]

It's an excellent engineering idea/

[PuneetMehra]

2:06 - I am unclear why each layer gets little smaller as we move up. If they were of same length, the heat won't dissipate? Why? 🤔🤔

[rilkeanheart]

aerospace materials engineer here:

1. kapton is amber and clear. you're looking at it after coating with aluminum.
2. kapton is NOT conductive and does not bleed charge. the aluminum coating does that.
3. mylar is not modified kapton. mylar is a brand name for polyester, a completely different polymer.

the factual incorrectness from this NASA video is really egregious, considering how nitpicky NASA Goddard is about getting things right.

[JamesKaramath]

Really want to show some of these videos to my students - can they please have sensible metric units added?!

[aliste]

Is in any way relevant the Kapton albedo for the JWST's time exposures? Why the last Kapton layer is so reflective, instead of being a more IR and visible light absorbent material?

[prasah]

How strong are the layers? Look fragile to me like aluminium foil. Imagine some micro asteroids hitting it. There is also no back support for the layers. They are just held around the corners.

[amadeus]

You can not measure the heat of an object with low emesivity with a thermal imager.
What was seen was heat that was reflected, not what temperature the surface itself has. To be able to do that, such a form of coating on the surface is required.
But the principle is of course completely correct.

[jacimarmoronarimassad]

O lançamento dele foi novamente adiado?

[grahamekellermeier]

Interesting long as it doesn't park in the wrong zone it might get towed

[Muonium]

Delayed again today two more days to Christmas Eve launch because of a ground computer communication asymptotically approaching launch date😅😅

[tekkx_avery]

If the Capton really is electrically conductive it can't "create" static electricity.
Maybe I've missheard that cause I'm not english.

[snappycattimesten]

Inches? Wtf.
It’s embarrassing at this point USA.

[MICRORuchit]

Guys how are you naming these damn videos like part 1, ep 06 what?