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posted by janrinok on Thursday June 28 2018, @03:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the challenges dept.

Remember the JWST? Yup:

NASA has again delayed the launch of its next-generation space observatory, known as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the space agency announced today. The telescope now has a new launch date of March 30th, 2021. It's the second delay to the project's timeline this year, and the third in the last nine months.

"We're all disappointed that the culmination of Webb and its launch is taking longer than expected, but we're creating something new here. We're dealing with cutting edge technology to perform an unprecedented mission, and I know that our teams are working hard and will successfully overcome the challenges," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a video statement. "In space we always have to look at the long term, and sometimes the complexities of our missions don't come together as soon as we wish. But we learn, we move ahead, and ultimately we succeed."

NASA pushed the launch of JWST, which is viewed as a more powerful successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, from 2019 to 2020 in March of this year. At the same time the space agency also convened an independent review board to assess the future of the project, which is running the risk of blowing by an $8 billion cost cap set by NASA in 2011. Going beyond that cost cap would mean that Congress has to reauthorize the program.

The NYT also reports an increase in mission cost (archive), which could have a negative impact on WFIRST or other missions:

NASA announced on Wednesday that the James Webb Space Telescope, once scheduled to be launched into orbit around the sun this fall, will take three more years and another billion dollars to complete. A report delivered to NASA by an independent review board estimated that the cost of the troubled Webb telescope would now be $9.66 billion, and that it would not be ready to launch until March 30, 2021.

[...] The new report means that NASA will surely need another $837 million and exceed that cap. Congress will have to reauthorize the telescope at a cost yet to be determined to other missions. Among the missions that could be threatened, astronomers say, is an ambitious space telescope called WFirst to study dark energy and hunt exoplanets.

The positive spin on this is that there will be more targets for it to look at (such as exoplanets and solar system objects) by the time it becomes operational.

Also at NASASpaceFlight and Engadget.

I need new ways to write this headline:

Previously: Launch of James Webb Space Telescope Delayed to Spring 2019
WFIRST Space Observatory Could be Scaled Back Due to Costs
Launch of James Webb Space Telescope Could be Further Delayed
JWST: Too Big to Fail?
Trump Administration Budget Proposal Would Cancel WFIRST
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
House Spending Bill Offers NASA More Money Than the Agency or Administration Wanted


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday June 28 2018, @05:13PM (1 child)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday June 28 2018, @05:13PM (#699903) Journal

    Just recently, there was this:

    Screws and Washers Have Fallen Off JWST Amid Testing and Independent Review [soylentnews.org]

    and before that:

    Launch of James Webb Space Telescope Delayed to May 2020, Could Exceed Budget Cap [soylentnews.org]

    Valves on the spacecraft's thrusters had sprung leaks after being improperly cleaned, and replacing them had taken the better part of a year. Webb's tennis-court-sized, five-layered folding "sunshield" had also been torn during a test as it unfurled, requiring time-consuming failure analyses and repairs.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    Starting Score:    1  point
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       Informative=1, Total=1
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 28 2018, @07:07PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 28 2018, @07:07PM (#699940)

    There is new info on the screws:

    The fasteners came loose during an acoustic test that simulated the conditions Webb will encounter during launch on a European Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana.

    Some of the fastener hardware, which comprised items such as washers and screws, still has not been found on the spacecraft or in Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Redondo Beach, California.

    Link [spaceflightnow.com]