Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Saturday December 25 2021, @11:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the this-time-for-sure! dept.

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:


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Informative) by hendrikboom on Saturday December 25 2021, @02:05PM (11 children)

    by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 25 2021, @02:05PM (#1207773) Homepage Journal

    It's in orbit now.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Informative=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 25 2021, @02:35PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 25 2021, @02:35PM (#1207782)

    funny that the info graphics show shadows on the cold side.
    https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/deploymentExplorer.html [nasa.gov]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 25 2021, @02:43PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 25 2021, @02:43PM (#1207786)

    How long til it reaches Mars and initiates planetary oxygenation?

  • (Score: 2) by crafoo on Saturday December 25 2021, @03:12PM (1 child)

    by crafoo (6639) on Saturday December 25 2021, @03:12PM (#1207796)

    Damn I missed the launch. I just assumed it would be pushed back again!

    I was watching Scott Manley's video yesterday on Webb and I think he said it will take about 2 weeks to get into the final orbit out past the moon-earth L2 point. They undershot on the upper stage because there was a risk it would be an over-performing engine and send the telescope out past it's orbit, with too much energy for the telescope to use it's fuel to return.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 25 2021, @05:12PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 25 2021, @05:12PM (#1207815)

      >> Damn I missed the launch. I just assumed it would be pushed back again!

      Yeah, I'd put aside some time in 2029 too.

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 25 2021, @07:34PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 25 2021, @07:34PM (#1207835)

    Making it past the swirling swarm of space junk around our poor old planet is a big step. The things that Hubble brought us must be appreciated and not forgotten. Webb is the next stage, the next generation - decades on. I feel privileged to live to see the wonders this new instrument will show us about the universe.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 26 2021, @02:58AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 26 2021, @02:58AM (#1207888)

      Not really. Most of what is up there is easily avoided if you are just passing through. The trouble happens when you stay in near Earth orbit, because repeated near-misses means something will eventually hit.

      • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday December 26 2021, @07:50PM

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Sunday December 26 2021, @07:50PM (#1207959) Homepage
        Most of what's up there, by mass, is avoidable. However, when a speck weighing 1/10 of a gram carries as much energy as a high power rifle round, it's the myraid more in number small things that you actually need to be afraid of, as they can kill something a million times their size. We're a sphere - we're potentially an infinitude of collider beams everywhere, and those particle beams are invisible to us.
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
  • (Score: 2) by coolgopher on Saturday December 25 2021, @10:29PM (2 children)

    by coolgopher (1157) on Saturday December 25 2021, @10:29PM (#1207858)

    Did hell just freeze over??

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by hendrikboom on Sunday December 26 2021, @12:35AM (1 child)

      by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Sunday December 26 2021, @12:35AM (#1207875) Homepage Journal

      Well, if you read Dante, you'll know that the innermost circle of Hell is already a permanently frozen waste.

      • (Score: 2) by coolgopher on Sunday December 26 2021, @11:18AM

        by coolgopher (1157) on Sunday December 26 2021, @11:18AM (#1207918)

        So... telling Musk to go to hell is merely encouragement for his existing endeavour?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 26 2021, @07:52AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 26 2021, @07:52AM (#1207908)