the $10 billion observatory has been parked a million miles from earth. engineers will spend the next five months getting it ready to take images of the first stars to shine in the cosmos. i asked dr ken kremer, research scientist and space journalist, why it needs to be precisely where it is. it needs to be there so we can operate. 1.5 million kilometres from earth and it needs to be far away so that it can be cooled because the instruments that operate the infrared spectrum need to be extremely cold, about a0 degrees above absolute zero and it can only do that when they are out there at that low branch point, that stable point so can stay there and operate for many years using a minimum amount of fuel. it blocks the sun and, for the most part, a little bit of sunlight to get through to the solar panel but most of it is blocked and that way you can keep extremely cold