from the looking-forward-to-first-light dept.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope passes crucial launch-simulation tests:
NASA's next big space telescope just took another step toward its highly anticipated 2021 launch.
The $9.8 billion James Webb Space Telescope has passed "environmental testing," a series of trials designed to simulate the considerable rigors of launch, NASA officials announced today (Oct. 6).
"The successful completion of our observatory environmental tests represent[s] a monumental milestone in the march to launch," Webb project manager Bill Ochs, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said today in a statement. "Environmental testing demonstrates Webb's ability to survive the rocket ride to space, which is the most violent portion of its trip to orbit approximately a million miles from Earth."
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James Webb Space Telescope reaches launch pad for Christmas liftoff
The James Webb Space Telescope is due to launch on Saturday (Dec. 25) during a 32-minute window that opens at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT). The massive observatory will blast off from Kourou, French Guiana, atop an Ariane 5 rocket operated by European launch provider Arianespace. You can watch launch coverage live at Space.com beginning at 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) courtesy of NASA or you can watch directly at the agency's website.
ESA launch kit (PDF).
Previously:
Space science: The telescope that ate astronomy
JWST Primary Mirror Starting To Come Together
New Space Telescope's Giant Gold Mirror Unveiled (April 29th)
Telescope That 'Ate Astronomy' Is on Track to Surpass Hubble
James Webb Space Telescope Vibration Testing Completed
Launch of James Webb Space Telescope Delayed to Spring 2019
Launch of James Webb Space Telescope Could be Further Delayed
JWST: Too Big to Fail?
GAO: James Webb Space Telescope Launch Date Likely Will be Delayed (Again)
Launch of James Webb Space Telescope Delayed to May 2020, Could Exceed Budget Cap
NASA Announces JWST Independent Review Board Members
Screws and Washers Have Fallen Off JWST Amid Testing and Independent Review
Launch of James Webb Space Telescope Delayed Again, This Time to March 2021, Cost at $9.66 Billion
NASA Administrator at House Hearing: WFIRST Could be Delayed to Help Pay for JWST
James Webb Passes Critical Mission Review for 2021 Launch, Final Testing Nearing Completion
NASA Ominously Chooses Halloween 2021 to Launch Long-Delayed Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's Next Great Observatory, Passes Final Ground Tests
The James Webb Telescope has a Launch Date
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Passes Crucial Launch-Simulation Tests
James Webb Telescope: Preparations Resume for December 22 Launch
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Fully Fueled for Launch
It looks like the launch date for the James Webb Space Telescope has slipped again. It was slated to launch this coming Halloween but now it will be at mid-November at the earliest.
According to Ars Technica:
Last summer, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) set an October 31, 2021, launch date for the $10 billion telescope. The instrument, which is the largest science observatory ever placed into space, will launch on a European Ariane 5 rocket from a spaceport in French Guiana. Now, however, three considerations have pushed the launch into November or possibly early December.
[...] The launch campaign, which begins when the telescope arrives in French Guiana, requires 55 days. Asked whether this means that Webb will not launch until mid-November at the earliest, Zurbuchen said this assessment was correct.
Engadget added:
A delay of a few weeks is not much, considering the initial launch timeframe was around 2007. Still, there are reasons for optimism. Pushing back the launch by weeks rather than months or years is an indication that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter for the successor to Hubble.
Previously:
- NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Passes Crucial Launch-Simulation Tests
- NASA's Webb to Examine Objects in the Graveyard of the Solar System
- NASA Ominously Chooses Halloween 2021 to Launch Long-Delayed Space Telescope
- James Webb Space Telescope Will "Absolutely" Not Launch in March
- New Exoplanet Life Detection Method for James Webb Telescope
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 08 2020, @01:28PM (3 children)
Have they taken it to an optometrist?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday October 08 2020, @05:47PM (1 child)
They've taken it everywhere except where it belongs, space.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Unixnut on Thursday October 08 2020, @11:33PM
I am torn between a "funny" or "insightful yet depressing" mod....
(Score: 3, Funny) by isostatic on Thursday October 08 2020, @07:23PM
They took it to Barnards Castle
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Thursday October 08 2020, @03:49PM (3 children)
Nearly $10 billion in costs? I hope they get it launched, but that's begging to be chopped. The fate of the Superconducting Supercollider was exactly that, cancelled after costs reached the 10 digit neighborhood.
What happened to NASA's drive to more cost efficiency? Granted, the International Space Station is ten times as much. Well, maybe if the deficit hawks come for NASA, they can shield the James Webb by pointing to the ISS.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Thursday October 08 2020, @05:54PM
It's literally too big to fail.
You seem late to this saga. Cost efficiency was a goal of JWST... back in the 90s when it was being developed:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Webb_Space_Telescope#Background [wikipedia.org]
Since then, A Lot Of Things Happened.
Preventing this from happening to future telescopes requires a paradigm shift, especially away from years of redundant testing to try to avoid failure. Folding mechanisms should be cut in favor of modular designs that can be assembled in orbit. Lowered launch costs using fully reusable rockets will also help.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Thursday October 08 2020, @09:28PM (1 child)
Boy that would suck if that Ariane5 had an RUD when launching the JWST. All that pain and cost for nothing.
The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 08 2020, @09:54PM
Nature of the biz. You spend a decent chunk of your working career, say, on a planetary probe, then have it be DOA or something. It isn't wasted time and effort for the skills and experience you develop (and if you're lucky, you've gotten a number of refereed pubs and/or conference talks out of it), but it is a major major disappointment nonetheless.