NASA engineer Ernie Wright looks on as the first six flight ready James Webb Space Telescope's ... [+]
The “next Hubble” is almost “go.”
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST or “Webb”), originally mooted 30 years ago and frequently delayed, now has a launch date of Sunday, October 31, 2021—and NASA is intent on sticking to it.
Originally supposed to launch on March 31, 2021 until that date was scrubbed because of how the pandemic had affected preparations, the $8.8 billion space telescope—which will resemble a huge sunflower once unfurled in space—this week completed final functional tests at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California.
Is Webb now ready to launch? Yes, almost—it’s now confirmed that the world’s best-ever space science telescope is fit to withstand its upcoming launch atop an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket from the European Spaceport’s ELA-3 launch complex in French Guiana.
The next series of technical milestones will include the final folding of Webb’s sunshield and deployment of its 21 ft./6.5 meter-diameter mirror (the Hubble Space Telescope’s is 7 ft. 10 in./2.4 meters, which is comprised of 18 hexagonal segments of gold-plated beryllium.
That mirror will be within an origami-like structure that will fold-out once in space after hundreds of small, automated manoeuvres.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST or Webb) looks rather like a giant sunflower on a surfboard.
Webb will fly a million miles out into space at the L2 or second Lagrange Point—where it will stay in a fixed position relative to the Earth and Sun.
It’s an intricate and expensive project that no-one can afford to get wrong.
Designed and funded by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Webb is around the size of a tennis court and set to be the largest, most powerful and most complex space science telescope ever constructed.
However, it’s Webb’s ability to detect faint infrared light that will be its biggest advantage over Hubble.
Seeing in the infrared will enable it to look much faster back in time. It’s hoped that Webb will help solve mysteries in our Solar System, closely study exoplanets and probe the structures and origins of the Universe.
It’s named after James E. Webb, NASA’s administrator during some of the Apollo era, though some wish it wasn’t.
The James Webb Space Telescope
The recent tests confirmed that Webb’s internal electronics are all functioning properly and that its four scientific instruments can send and receive data through the same network they will use in space.
The latest tests—conducted complete with mask wearing and social distancing—took 17 days in total, during which technicians powered on all of Webb’s electrical components and cycled through their planned operations to ensure each was functioning and communicating with each other.
“It’s been amazing to witness the level of expertise, commitment and collaboration across the team during this important milestone,” said Jennifer Love-Pruitt, Northrop Grumman’s electrical vehicle engineering lead on the Webb observatory. “It’s definitely a proud moment because we demonstrated Webb’s electrical readiness. The successful completion of this test also means we are ready to move forward toward launch and on-orbit operations.”
During its final full systems test, technicians powered on all of the James Webb Space Telescope's ... [+]
Webb also underwent a “ground segment test,” during which technicians pretended that the space telescope was already in deep space. They simulated the entire complete process of gathering and handling data, from planning observations to posting the scientific data to the community archive.
During the tests Webb was even be connected to NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), which is how engineers communicate with, and receive data from, its 30+ robotic probes in the Solar System and beyond. The DSN uses three radio antennas, each placed 120º from each other at Goldstone in California, Madrid in Spain and Canberra in Australia. Whichever one has the clearest line-of-sight to the probe or satellite receives the data.
Once it’s completed a final round of tests Webb will be on its way to South America in readiness for October’s launch. And then it really will be “hold your breath” time as nearly 500 metric tons of propellant is lit underneath an $8.8 billion dream.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
