James Webb Space Telescope to Launch December 25th - Updated

[bison]

The James Webb Space Telescope recently experienced serious accidental jarring, when a clamp holding it in place let go unexpectedly. It was feared that damage had been done to the long-delayed telescope.

NASA now reports that they have checked over the telescope, and find it space-worthy. The pause in preparations only delayed the launch for four days.

This is something of a miracle, when one considers how the telescope has been delayed for years, repeatedly, since its original launch date in 2007. The James Webb Space Telescope is expected too be launched from French Guiana on December 22nd (Fingers Crossed!)

The telescope will be able to detect the composition of the atmospheres of some exoplanets, perhaps revealing signs of life therein.

Please find a link, below, to an article from Astronomy Now, with further details.

https://astronomynow.com/2021/11/26/nasa-resumes-james-webb-launch-preps-after-incident-review/

[+and-then]

"Jarring"?  Won't there be a lot of that happening during launch?

[Grim Reaper 6]

9 hours ago, bison said:

The James Webb Space Telescope recently experienced serious accidental jarring, when a clamp holding it in place let go unexpectedly. It was feared that damage had been done to the long-delayed telescope.

NASA now reports that they have checked over the telescope, and find it space-worthy. The pause in preparations only delayed the launch for four days.

This is something of a miracle, when one considers how the telescope has been delayed for years, repeatedly, since its original launch date in 2007. The James Webb Space Telescope is expected too be launched from French Guiana on December 22nd (Fingers Crossed!)

The telescope will be able to detect the composition of the atmospheres of some exoplanets, perhaps revealing signs of life therein.

Please find a link, below, to an article from Astronomy Now, with further details.

https://astronomynow.com/2021/11/26/nasa-resumes-james-webb-launch-preps-after-incident-review/

I also read this, man that could have been disastrous and a complete waste of 10 Billion Dollars. Let's just hope it lives up the expectations that have been placed upon it. If it does even after the extra costs below in my opinion will be worth it, because of wonderful discoveries that may be made. It was originally supposed to cost 4.96 Billion Dollars and launch in 2014, but do to mismanagement it was again suppose to cost 8.8 Billion Dollars and launch in 2018, but no such luck again. Then after restructuring In the intervening years, the program struggled to address serious technical problems, further delaying the launch to 2021. This final delay added yet another 1.2 billion dollars to the total cost.

Thanks for the staring the thread Bison I really enjoyed It!

[bison]

13 hours ago, and then said:

"Jarring"?  Won't there be a lot of that happening during launch?

Undoubtedly! I raised this point on another website's forum, when someone seemed particularly worried about the situation. The James Webb Space Telescope, or any space telescope, obviously needs to be very sturdily built to withstand  launch atop a thundering, shuddering rocket.  Still, I commend NASA for an abundance of caution, in checking the telescope thoroughly, after the incident.

An inadequate policy of  preflight checking, rechecking, and checking again is what caused the Hubble Space Telescope to be launched with some improperly figured optics.  

[+and-then]

13 hours ago, bison said:

Undoubtedly! I raised this point on another website's forum, when someone seemed particularly worried about the situation. The James Webb Space Telescope, or any space telescope, obviously needs to be very sturdily built to withstand  launch atop a thundering, shuddering rocket.  Still, I commend NASA for an abundance of caution, in checking the telescope thoroughly, after the incident.

An inadequate policy of  preflight checking, rechecking, and checking again is what caused the Hubble Space Telescope to be launched with some improperly figured optics.  

YEP... and since this thing is going to be "on station" one MILLION miles away, there won't be any quick fixes.  Keeping fingers crossed.  If it lives up to expectations it will represent a whole new era of deep space exploration.

[Still Waters]

Related:

James Webb: A $10bn machine in search of the end of darkness

At the bottom of a cave, perhaps; or in a basement when the power shuts off. But there's usually some faint glow coming from somewhere. Even the night sky never seems truly black, not least because there's usually a star or two twinkling in the distance.

So it's hard to imagine a time when all that existed was darkness, when you could travel in any direction for millions of years and still see absolutely nothing.

But this is the story that scientists tell us, of the "dark ages" that gripped the Universe before the first stars ignited. And very shortly, they intend to show us that time, or rather how it ended - how the cosmos ultimately became filled with light.

They'll do it using the biggest telescope ever placed beyond the Earth: The James Webb Space Telescope.

Launching in the coming days, JWST is on a mission to look deeper into the Universe - and therefore further back in time - than even the legendary Hubble Space Telescope, which it succeeds.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59476869

[L.A.T.1961]

Engineers completed final checks on Friday before closing the observatory behind the nose cone of its Ariane rocket.

Everything is on track now for a lift-off from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana next Friday, 24 December, at 09:20 local time (12:20 GMT).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59692930

Convenient time to watch the launch in the UK.  

[Still Waters]

James Webb: Weather shifts telescope launch to 25 December

A poor weather forecast has pushed back the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope by a further day.

Concerns about high-level winds at the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana mean it won't now happen until 25 December.

Everything is set, though. A readiness review for the rocket and the observatory is complete, and launch teams have conducted their final rehearsal.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59754467

[Still Waters]

The James Webb Space Telescope Is on The Launchpad!

https://www.sciencealert.com/it-s-a-christmas-miracle-james-webb-space-telescope-is-officially-on-the-launchpad

Astronomers on tenterhooks as $10bn James Webb telescope set for lift off

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/dec/24/astronomers-on-tenterhooks-as-10bn-james-webb-telescope-set-for-lift-off

[toast]

Watch the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. This mission is scheduled to lift off at 7:20 a.m. EST (12:20 UTC), Dec. 25, 2021

(About 19hrs left)

 

[+Hammerclaw]

The telescope is NASA's, but the ESA is launching it.

[toast]

27 minutes ago, Hammerclaw said:

The telescope is NASA's, but the ESA is launching it.

No. The telescope is a co-production by ESA, NASA and CSA. ESA for example build two of the four onboard science instruments.

[+Hammerclaw]

1 hour ago, toast said:

No. The telescope is a co-production by ESA, NASA and CSA. ESA for example build two of the four onboard science instruments.

It's a co-operative effort, but the ESA is doing the "heavy lifting"--no pun intended.

[Saru]

Success!

[+Hammerclaw]

Flawless!

[kartikg]

I hope more of these are launched soon. 

[jethrofloyd]

A touchdown! 

Now the aliens have nowhere to hide. 

[+and-then]

So... a month to get on station and a total of about 6 months before we get the first images.  Exciting times!

[pallidin]

For those interested, what happens next with the JWST is described in some reasonable detail here:

https://interestingengineering.com/what-will-jwst-do-next

 

 

 

 

[Trelane]

The 1st images should be coming back to us in say late June or early Luly?

[+and-then]

It's supposed to arrive on station in about a month.  It's already past our moon and outbound.  One million miles in a single month   

Saw this a couple of days ago 

[toast]

Where is Webb?

 

[Trelane]

3 hours ago, toast said:

Where is Webb?

 

Thank you for this!

I haven't read too much on this but are there any concerns of the Webb being affected by space debris? What would the plan be if it is damaged or there's an issue where it doesn't operate properly?

[toast]

11 minutes ago, Trelane said:

I haven't read too much on this but are there any concerns of the Webb being affected by space debris?

I havent read any reports of a damage yet and as Wepp is past the Moon`s orbit already I dont think there will be any hazard by space debris because there isnt any out there.

Quote

What would the plan be if it is damaged or there's an issue where it doesn't operate properly?

The plan would be that all of us would totally freak out. Or to call Bruce Willis.

[Duke Wellington]

I watched a documentary on it and its powerful enough to see a LED on a planet surface a million light years away.