Humanity's Greatest Engineering Feat?
Adam Savage’s Tested
Oct 12, 2026 14:00
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Chapters
Adam Savage visits Smithsonian's @airandspace for a first look at an extraordinary new addition to the collection: the Pathfinder for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)! Space history curator Samantha Thompson walks Adam through this full-scale engineering model, which was essential to proving out the telescope's multi-stage origami unfolding, extreme temperature tolerances, and precision optics before the real JWST launched a million miles into deep space. Adam inspects the massive backplane structure, the secondary mirror assembly, and two real beryllium hexagonal mirrors — one uncoated and one coated in microscopically thin gold — to explore the engineering marvels that paved the way for one of humanity's greatest engineering achievements!
National Air and Space Museum: https://airandspace.si.edu/
Visit the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar Hazy Center: https://www.si.edu/museums/air-and-space-museum-udvar-hazy-center
Visit the National Air and Space Museum's downtown museum: https://airandspace.si.edu/
Smithsonian Institution: https://www.si.edu/
James Webb Space Telescope’s Pathfinder and Parker Solar Probe: https://airandspace.si.edu/newsroom/press-releases/national-air-and-space-museum-welcomes-james-webb-space-telescopes
Preserving WWII’s Most Battle-Damaged Bomber: https://youtu.be/9BNKu8WBO8M
The Reason This Space Docking Module Was Androgynous:
https://youtu.be/9VcVtuutdpE
Adam Savage Visits National Air and Space Museum's Restoration Hangar: https://youtu.be/WFSnf0MSAFc
More videos from Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c0BsBCx4Sw&list=PLJtitKU0CAeiJ7tjkIqcrRPfIYZHPW643
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Science & Technology
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#adam savage
#james webb space telescope
#jwst
#jwst pathfinder
#nasa
#smithsonian
#air and space museum
#udvar-hazy center
#space telescope
#astronomy
#space exploration
#astrophysics
#beryllium mirror
#gold coated mirror
#engineering
#space science
#James Webb Space Telescope Pathfinder.
#smithsonian telescope