[yayhhnhr] JWST practice launch

the James Webb Space Telescope seems so complex to deploy that it's surprising that no practice launch isn't being done first.  send up a device that has everything except the optics and scientific instruments (presumably the most expensive parts), perhaps only into low earth orbit, and check that the whole thing unfurls correctly.  go up to inspect if you need to see what went wrong.  (and responsibly burn it in the atmosphere when done.)

maybe the optics and scientific instruments aren't the expensive parts.  observing infrared requires only as much precision as the wavelength of infrared light.

maybe the whole thing is not the expensive part.  if the first try completely fails due to a problem, maybe the plan is to build and launch a second telescope with the problem corrected for negligible cost, reusing most of the design and experience (the actual expensive parts) from the upcoming "practice".