This question was asked here: Does the JWST have a camera to monitor its deployment progress? several years ago; I am re-asking in case the situation changed between the time it was answered and its eventual launch a few days ago. All things considered, it would seem that visual inspection could be worth the cost to aid in troubleshooting any difficulties or forensically investigating a malfunction. Or is such a measure unnecessary due to redundancies, position/force sensors and a deep understanding of all possible failure modes?
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1The site doesn't permit duplicate questions for any reason. If those answers are old, downvote the outdated answer and upvote or supply a newer answer. And, if you want to help the site bounty that question for more attention and a newer answer. – Evan Carroll Dec 29 '21 at 02:05
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5Does this answer your question? Does the JWST have a camera to monitor its deployment progress? – Evan Carroll Dec 29 '21 at 02:06
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1As the one that posted the original answer, that answer is still valid. – Vince 49 Dec 29 '21 at 07:07
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@AnthonyX I managed to get away with it once, just barely, but it was extraordinary circumstances (I think). I think the best way to proceed in general, (either with a reopen or a new question) is to find some new aspect of the question that's sufficiently different and add it in, or find something in the answer that can be pursued separately, that's different enough that it's clearer if it's addressed in a new Q&A page. (Now what do we think? Is this purple dot really caused by Cassegrain optics and coherent backscattering?) – uhoh Dec 29 '21 at 09:20
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different but related: How common is it for spacecraft to have "selfie" capability? – uhoh Dec 29 '21 at 09:24