Packing up the sunshield for launch – the James Webb Space Telescope

Webb's massive sunshield (bottom) was folded and packed up in spring 2021 in preparation for the telescope's launch. Webb's five-layer, diamond-shaped sunshield is designed to protect it from the Sun's radiation. In fact, the massive, tennis court-sized sunshield blocks out 99.9999% of the Sun's rays – the equivalent of sunscreen with SPF 1 million! (Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn)