At Europe's Spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana, technicians are working to get the James Webb Space Telescope ready for launch. The observatory arrived at the facility on October 12th and was placed inside the upper stage of the Ariane 5 rocket that will carry it to space on November 11th. The upper stage was hoisted high above the core stage and boosters so that a team of engineers could integrate them.
The engineers tried to attach the upper stage to the launch vehicle, but there was a problem. The NASA post said that the incident involved the sudden release of a band which secures the JWST to the LVA. The launch of the JWST could be pushed back to December 22nd.
A NASA-led board was immediately convened to investigate the development and recommend how to proceed. The board recommended that more testing be done to make sure the incident did not damage any components. The testing is expected to be completed by the end of this week, and NASA and its partners will provide an update.
The second stage of the Ariane 5 is the best way to take the JWST to space. The credit is given to the European Space Agency.
The target launch date for the JWST will not be made in December because of additional tests. The telescope has been plagued by delays from the beginning. The observatory was not finished until 2016 because of delays and cost overruns, but development efforts began in 1996 with an initial plan to launch by 2007.
The Sun Shield was delayed due to the Pandemic in March 2020 and a section ripped during a practice deployment in 2018. The Ariane 5 launch was delayed yet again due to concerns over the vehicle. The vehicle accelerated unexpectedly during two previous launches, which caused these concerns.
The Ariane 5 rocket has a good reputation for sending things to space. Since 1996, this launch vehicle has been used to make 112 launches, and only five have failed. That is a 95.5% success rate, which is excellent. There is no room for doubt when the JWST launches.
The earliest date for the launch of Webb is December 22nd. Once the additional tests are completed and the upper stage is given a clean bill of health, the engineering teams will resume their work on the telescope. The final integration of the upper stage to the core stage and boosters will be done by the teams.
The James Webb Space Telescope has a primary mirror segment. David Higginbotham/Emmett Given is a NASA/MSFC credit.
The most powerful telescope ever deployed to space will be launched once. Some of the most ambitious scientific operations in the history of astronomy will be attempted by the JWST. The first stars and galaxies in the Universe, studying the formation and evolution of the universe, completing the census of exoplanets, and answering fundamental questions about the origins of life are some of the things that are included.
It is easy to see why the mission team, NASA, and all of its commercial partners are frustrated by the delays. Good old-fashioned space exploration enthusiasts, as well as the astronomy community, are the same. Many people have been waiting for years to see what Webb will reveal about our Universe.
Further reading: NASA.
