James Webb Space Telescope

[greenskull]

In November or early December 2021, it is planned to launch the James Webb Space Telescope with a 6.5-meter mirror.
One of the main tasks of the program is the detection of exoplanets, satellites of these planets and the spectral lines of these planets.



Perigee altitude 374,000 km.
Apogee altitude 1,500,000 km.

The estimated launch date has been postponed many times.
The project budget exceeds $ 10 billion.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by greenskull

In November or early December 2021, it is planned to launch the James Webb Space Telescope with a 6.5-meter mirror.
One of the main tasks of the program is the detection of exoplanets, satellites of these planets and the spectral lines of these planets.

Attachment 25514

Perigee altitude 374,000 km.
Apogee altitude 1,500,000 km.

The estimated launch date has been postponed many times.
The project budget exceeds $ 10 billion.

Just Wait, Still Terrestrial.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by xilman

Just Wait, Still Terrestrial.

Reminds me of Denver International Airport (DIA). Design changes by United Airlines during construction and other factors repeatedly pushed back completion. People were saying that the initials stood for "Delay It Again."

The Hubble Space Telescope was originally scheduled for launch in 1986, was delayed by the events of January 28, 1986, was finally put in orbit in 1990, and went into full service after the 1993 mission to install corrective optics to compensate for an improperly-shaped main mirror. It has had several upgrade and repair missions since then, and is not quite dead yet. Its total cost, repair missions and all, is estimated at around $10 billion US.

The James Webb Space telescope was initially scheduled to launch in 2007. The launch was delayed until 2011, then 2014, then 2018, then 2021. Its cost has been estimated at $10 billion US, and it's still not launched yet.

Because its planned deployment is at the Earth-Sun L₂ Lagrange point, a million miles beyond Earth as seen by Mr. Sun, there will be no service missions. It will have to use fuel to maintain its position, and its fuel supply is expected to run out in ten years or so.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Because its planned deployment is at the Earth-Sun L₂ Lagrange point, a million miles beyond Earth as seen by Mr. Sun, there will be no service missions. It will have to use fuel to maintain its position, and its fuel supply is expected to run out in ten years or so.

No planned service missions.

Who knows what young Mr Musk may be able to do by 2035?

[ryanp]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Reminds me of Denver International Airport (DIA). Design changes by United Airlines during construction and other factors repeatedly pushed back completion. People were saying that the initials stood for "Delay It Again."

That's what they want you to believe... but really, it was delayed so the Illuminati and New World Order could construct their secret underground bunker to survive the apocalypse!

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by ryanp

That's what they want you to believe... but really, it was delayed so the Illuminati and New World Order could construct their secret underground bunker to survive the apocalypse!

I liked the yarn about there being a secret underground military base beneath DIA. And that it was just one of a whole network of underground military bases throughout the lower 48, with a whole underground road system connecting them. I hope the road system functions better than the baggage-handling system at DIA did when operations began.

Then there's the true story about DIA's "demon" sculpture that killed its creator...

[greenskull]

As of September 2021, the launch is scheduled for 18 December 2021 on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from French Guiana.



The observatory attaches to the Ariane 5 launch vehicle via a launch vehicle adapter ring which could be used by a future spacecraft to grapple the observatory to attempt to fix gross deployment problems. However, the telescope itself is not serviceable, and astronauts would not be able to perform tasks such as swapping instruments, as with the Hubble Telescope.

Its nominal mission time is five years, with a goal of ten years. JWST needs to use propellant to maintain its halo orbit around L2, which provides an upper limit to its designed lifetime, and it is being designed to carry enough for ten years.The planned five year science mission begins after a 6-month commissioning phase. An L2 orbit is unstable, so it requires orbital station-keeping, or the telescope will drift away from this orbital configuration.

[mathwiz]

JWST has reportedly arrived safely in French Guiana, in preparation for launch...

[kriesel]

Shouldn't that thread title be James Webb Sinkhole for Tax dollars?

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by kriesel

Shouldn't that thread title be James Webb Sinkhole for Tax dollars?

This is new technology. There were bound to be unforeseen problems along the way. Of course the development costs were high.

Now that we've worked those things out, what we need to do is produce a fleet of space telescopes, in order to get the unit cost down.

[xilman]

Just Wait, Still Terrestrial.