from the no-more-things-that-go-'bump'-in-the-night dept.
https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/about/launch.html
Webb's launch date is set for December 22, 2021 07:20 EST.
Launch Vehicle
The James Webb Space Telescope will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket. The launch vehicle is part of the European contribution to the mission. The Ariane 5 is one of the world's most reliable launch vehicles capable of delivering Webb to its destination in space. The European Space Agency (ESA) has agreed to provide an Ariane 5 launcher and associated launch services to NASA for Webb.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59419110
The telescope will be able to see just about anything in the sky. However, it has one overriding objective - to see the light coming from the very first stars to shine in the Universe.
These pioneer stars are thought to have switched on about 100-200 million years after the Big Bang, or a little over 13.5 billion years ago.
Webb will be picking out groupings of these stars. They are so far away, their light - even though it moves at 300,000km (186,000 miles) per second - will have taken billions of years to travel the cosmos.
It should be possible for Webb to see (or least detect a faint glow from) the moment when the darkness ended and those first stars flickered into life.
https://earthsky.org/space/james-webb-telescope-hubble-successor-to-launch/
Countdown resumes for December 22 launch
[...] NASA said today that engineering teams have completed additional testing confirming the James Webb Space Telescope is ready for flight. And that means launch preparations are resuming. The Webb's target launch date is now, officially, December 22 at 7:20 a.m. EST (00:20 UTC). NASA said in a statement:
Additional testing was conducted this week to ensure the observatory's health following an incident that occurred when the release of a clamp band caused a vibration throughout the observatory.
On Wednesday, November 24, engineering teams completed these tests, and a NASA-led anomaly review board concluded no observatory components were damaged in the incident. A "consent to fuel" review was held. And NASA gave approval to begin fueling the observatory. Fueling operations will begin Thursday, November 25, and will take about 10 days.
See also: https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/11/james-webb-space-telescope-cleared-for-late-december-launch/ suggested by Mockingbird
Related Stories
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
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 30 2021, @12:53PM (8 children)
Sure. If the deployment goes off without a hitch.
No. If there is anything wrong.
Maybe. If the vibration was the equivalent of smacking the side of the TV to get the connections to align.
We will all be biting our nails to the wick until the first pics come in.
(Score: 2, Funny) by khallow on Tuesday November 30 2021, @01:39PM
Good night, JWST. Good work, sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Tuesday November 30 2021, @03:16PM (5 children)
We knew a decade ago that there were hundreds of parts on JWST that could fail and supposedly kill the mission. We'll know if it succeeded within a few months.
If it does fail, I think we'll see a robotic mission to fix it. Or heads will roll.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 30 2021, @03:38PM (4 children)
Mod+ Insightful
Indeed, they should be making a robotic ambulance which can be deployed for rescue missions for any future or existing equipment.
It can stay in orbit to rendezvous with necessary mission objects like spare fuel or spare parts and then carry out repairs robotically similar to controlling Mars rovers.
Can even have a port for plugging into to get information.
Something like the Squidies on the Matrix if we want to fantasize.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Tuesday November 30 2021, @03:49PM
They want at least 5 years out of JWST, but it's built to last up to 10 years. The limiting factor is propellant to keep it at L2, after which it would just drift away from Earth while continuing to orbit the Sun, and become lost. Even if there is nothing to fix, they should consider a refuel, although it's not specifically designed to be serviced like Hubble was.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Offtopic) by janrinok on Tuesday November 30 2021, @04:10PM
If you log in you will not have to ask others to moderate according to your own personal whims.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday November 30 2021, @04:56PM (1 child)
In addition to being compatible with technology that hasn't been invented yet, will it be sentient and able to cook me an omelette?
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday November 30 2021, @05:52PM
In the event the answer is no to both of those, what did they spend the $9B+ dollars on?
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday November 30 2021, @04:06PM
True story: In 1982, I lightly hit the side of a supermini cabinet to get it to process my job faster. It did not make it run any faster.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday November 30 2021, @04:09PM (1 child)
How "normal" is it to have space hardware, the actual flight art tickle, stored for so many years?
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 30 2021, @05:50PM
I don't think there's anything "normal" about this whole mission. Passive surfaces like optics should be fine, assuming they've been kept in the normal climate-controlled areas, but actuators are known to have caused trouble in the past under long storage [nasa.gov]. And boy does this thing have a lot of actuators and mechanisms. Places like to have "lessons learned" summaries, so I hope that NASA learns lessons from these things (I know a lot of other places like to do "lessons learned," but never take the time to actually learn the lessons).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 30 2021, @06:24PM
And strangely, equally excited if it doesn't. Perhaps in a different way. Now to go watch some NASCAR...
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 30 2021, @07:05PM
I can't believe there's 12 comments here and NO ONE has left a reminder that JAMES WEBB WAS A HOMOPHOBE.
It's 2021 for fuck's sake, we shouldn't be memorializing BIGOTS. It should be renamed the Joseph Rosenbaum Space Telescope, in honor of a gay man who was slain at the hands of a wh*te supemacist who crossed state lines with an illegal gun in search of an opportunity to murder innocent protestors.
You people make me sick.