Beneath the cathedral-high canopy of a tightly controlled NASA facility in Maryland, a massive space telescope rests on its side, a hulking mix of metallic gray and obsidian black. Its silver-coated mirror is hidden away, shrouded in a protective cover, and its solar panels, sequined with thousands of shiny sun-basking cells, are tucked in around its form, like petals of a flower anticipating the nighttime darkness.