Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine

Other than hearing the name James Webb Telescope in the news I really didn't have a good idea what this was going to be about. And I'm not even that big into space it just for whatever reason doesn't interest me like it does other people. But I do have to say this was an amazing Mission and a very good introductory documentary that that is perfect for someone with little to zero previous knowledge of telescopes in space. I could see where some science nerds (I have immediate family that belong; I didn't get blessed with those genes) might be disappointed it was definitely not technical, but that wasn't the audience it was trying to reach. And for the person who gave 2/10 stores and complained that it's 5 minutes of actual content did you read the description? I didn't think it had any filler. It was well balanced and I can go look at photos anytime it'll be producing them for the next decade plus... doc starts with some history of telescope program, the insane construction process and the insane 344 "single point failures" meaning that if any 1 of 344 processes failed it would essentially terminate the satellite effectiveness and its mission. And oh by the way they had to do about a quarter of the processes without visual confirmation when the satellite was a million miles away from Earth. Yes I said that right a million miles away from Earth. Anyways it was more than I expected and if anything I've gained a appreciation for the scientists and engineers the stress they were under and what impressive people they are.

This was the first of the Unknown documentaries that I watched. I chose this one as first because the subject is what interested me the most. We all are curious about the origins, about how everything started. Most likely questions that will never been answered, maybe partially, and that will be because of the James Webb telescope, an unbelievable human achievement. The documentary is well made, consisting of interviews of several people that were involved in launching the telescope. I get it that people that worked on this project for decades are getting emotional. The huge amount of money, the time spent, everything that could go wrong, it's all very stressful for those people. I would have liked more of those stunning space images. The ones they showed I've already seen them before, like most people I guess, so it would have been nice to show us some more images that were never released before. But other than that the documentary is informative and that's what its all about. A good watch if you're interested in space.

Half of it was interesting science and tech and beautiful imagery, the other half feelgoody blather about personal details and mini-bios of people involved. The early development and various designs was glossed over by a guy petting his dog going through wrinkled papers on the dining-room table. Should have been more about why it uses infrared light and red-shifting of distant galaxies, why the Arianespace base in in south america. And so on. The worst parts were the segments with the airheaded valley girl types on the phone screens jumping up and down saying "Ohmygod" "yay" etc. Gag me.........

What a waste, I thought this was going to be about the making, launch and operation of JWST. Instead it's just a over hyped ego trip for some very dumb people who no one cares about...the boss of the operation is the biggest t**t I've seen on TV in a while, really does rate himself. This should have been about the science and the telescope not the people and their amazing egos, they all burned through billions of dollars that could have been used to help actual humans on earth instead of looking at distance galaxies that doesn't really effect anyone, seems like such a waste of money really, how do they get away with it?

Promising start but mid way in the doumentary took a turn away from the telescope to take a 15 minute ego trip about one guy out of the ~1,000 people who conceptualized, designed, engineered, built, launched, executed deployment, maintain, and analyze data. It was absurd and interrupted the entire flow of the documentary. The guy was ego tripping so hard, they had him talking about his workout routine and how many miles he runs. Unwatchable at that point. Imagine reading a literary masterpiece and the author stops the storyline to brag about themselves, writing process, life experiences, etc.

What an inspiration to us all the accomplishment that can be made when everyone has one goal! The pictures are absolutely beautiful and the thought and visuals of what is really out there is amazing. Without us seeing behind the scenes and all the work that went into it we would just take it for granted. Thank goodness for this film for showing us all what we really don't know behind the scenes. We just get to see the pictures from online but this film was detailed in showing us the hardworking people and the nervousness that goes into everything before the rest of us gets to see it. There was only one character/astrophysicist that was really. Too much gibberish for me I fast forward her parts. I want to know the educational and the story and people behind the scenes.

This isn't about the wonderful discoveries that JWST have delivered but instead the brilliant scientists and engineers who delivered the JWST. Stories of unsung heroes, many of whom have dedicated over 30 years of their lives to pull off the near impossible. In a world that is ever increasing reliant on technology but equally contaminated by people who disrespect expertise, this is a much needed reminder that we owe a great debt to people who not only know their stuff but who also put in the hard, gruelling yards to deliver. If you want to explore what JWST has done for cosmology, I thoroughly recommend Brian Greene's recent World Science Festival interviews.

As "Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine" (2023 release; 64 min.) opens, it is "13.8 Billion Years Ago" as the voice-over reminds us that is when the Big Bang occurred. We then go to "December 25, 2021" and the countdown for the launch of the James Web Space Telescope is on... Just before takeoff, we go back i1990 when the Hubble Space Telescope launched. At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the documentary. Couple of comments: this documentary does a great job explaining some of te background as to what it is the James Webb Space Telescope actually does which its predecessor didn't do. Much attention is given to the 344 "single-point failures" which the 10,000 men and women who worked on the Webb for several decades, must avoid, an almost Herculean challenge. The big pay-off comes in the last 10-15 minutes when we get the spectacular photos which the Webb is now collecting, along with a treasure-trove of related data. One of the photo's shows a galaxy "being born" 13.2 billion years ago (yes, not all that long after the big bang). It also made me think how planet Earth has been fundamentally ravaged with in just the last 250 years or so (since the Industrial Revolution). This does not bode well for the future of humankind...Meanwhile, enjoy this every entertaining AND educational documentary. Can be viewed by anyone from ages 7 to 77. "Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine" started streaming on Netflix a few days ago. If you have any interest in space or in human explorations, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

"Light in A Dark Time", a quote from a female astrophysicist on the show, is the best way to describe the James Webb telescope. The short documentary is definitely worth watching as it showcases the difficulty in designing, leading, getting funding, the disappointments and all hurdles that had to be overcome to be able to have the very risky and near impossible successful launch. Now that it is launched, humanity can see back in time 13 1/2 billion years ago, and the first image shared showed a massive amount of galaxies that old. I didn't give it a 10 star rating because quite honestly, if you are not an astrophysicist, and just a normal average citizen, it is extremely hard to wrap your mind around it (the shear time and distance of it) and hard to actually understand how truly awesome it is. Even by the awe on the astrophysicist's faces who do understand the meaning the Time Machine concept and distance, it is so amazing for them to comprehend it all as well at first look. Am sure it is just a first look at what is to come with more discoveries as scientists study the images.

If you want to listen to the stories of the worst types of people "working" on this telescope this is a documentary for you. Can fit all the useful and interesting information about the telescope in a 10min YouTube video. Red headed white lady, the most cliche half hot nerd chick brings nothing. The European dude complaining about fasteners not being tightened should of been sent up in the thing.horrible person, look him up if you want to be disgusted in humanity, nothing you can do about it, best to watch sausage dog videos instead. Would have been nice if they sent a GoPro up with it.heavily Relies on artistic impressions instead of actual video. No the world isn't flat and yes we went to the moon. Way too many references to god and miracles. Humans built it.