After months of delays, NASA’s huge $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope will launch at midnight on Christmas Eve.
It will launch atop a European Space Agency Ariane 5 rocket from Arianespace’s launch complex, located near Kourou, French Guiana.
In its history, the telescope has experienced multiple delays. The most recent was December 22, 2012 to Christmas Eve. This occurred after Webb’s ‘jolt’ with a clamp.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated to AP that there is so much at stake. He said, “Opening up all sorts of new understandings and revelations about our universe.”
Now, the NASA, European, and Canadian Space Agency telescopes are ready for launch. The rocket will lift off on December 24, at 07:20 ET (13.20 GMT).
NASA TV and MailOnline will live stream the launch.
NASA’s $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope (which could aid in finding life on other planets) will finally go into orbit on Christmas Eve after months of delay
It will take off on a European Space Agency Ariane 5 Rocket, launched from Arianespace’s launch facility near Kourou (French Guiana), South America
In its history, the telescope has experienced multiple delays. The most recent was December 22, 2012 to Christmas Eve. This occurred after Webb’s ‘jolt’ with a clamp.
Webb, who is already many years behind in leaving Earth for space will go back almost to the beginning of history to see when first stars and galaxies formed.
The spacecraft will examine exoplanet atmospheres, and may be used for finding life elsewhere.
James Webb has been developed at a cost of $8.8 billion (£6.6 billion), with operational expenses projected to bring its total price tag to about $9.66 billion (£7.2 billion), according to Reuters.
The rocket will be launched on Arianespace Ariane 5 from Kourou in French Guiana. This is the exact location for the European Space Agency’s Guiana Space Centre.
Numerous launch delays occurred over the past year. The most recent was from December 18-22, when there were communication problems between the observatory aboard the launch vehicle and the satellite.
The problem was finally resolved. However, the telescope also had been “jolted” in the process of transitioning to the rocket fairing.
Many other issues have hampered the construction of and test history for this telescope.
James Webb Space Telescope, which was first developed in 1996, was intended to launch in 2007. It is currently active.
‘Since Christmas Eve is over, all congressional delegations are going down. All of that has evaporated,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson stated to AP. He also said that ‘even NASA and the contractor team have dwindled.
Webb, who is years behind in leaving Earth to go to space, will be looking back at the very beginning of time to see when stars and galaxies formed.
T will also study the atmospheres and other exoplanets. This is a way to discover life on other worlds.
After a 16-day voyage aboard the MN Colibri and a short stay in France, James Webb arrived safely in French Guiana on October 15. He was then removed from his transport container before the launch preparations.
NASA reports that fuelling operations started on November 25th and took approximately 10 days.
On Saturday, December 11, the Guiana Space Centre secured the space telescope on the Ariane 5 rocket.
NASA had previously updated that Webb was slowly lifted to 130ft after its landing in the final assembly facility. Next, Webb was aligned perfectly on top of Ariane 5 and technicians then bolted Webb’s launch vehicle adapter down onto the rocket.
NASA said that the attachment stage was one of the most sensitive operations in the whole launch campaign for Webb.
When it does finally launch, James Webb will explore every phase of cosmic history – from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe, ‘and everything in between’.
Webb will make new discoveries that could help mankind understand both the origins and the place we play in the universe.
The goal is to go back over 13.5 billion year to find the first galaxies and stars that were formed after the Big Bang.
Webb will examine the universe through the infrared lens, while Hubble studies it using primarily ultraviolet and optical wavelengths.
Webb’s light-collecting surface is larger than Hubble, which allows it to see further into the past and at longer distances.
NASA prefers to see James Webb more as an extension of Hubble than as a replacement. They will continue to work together for some time.
NASA stated that the James Webb would begin “the most complicated sequence of deployments ever attempted in one space mission” approximately 28 minutes after it’s launch.
It is so large it will fold, origami-style, to fit in the rocket, according to NASA, and unfurl ‘like a Transformer’ in space, spreading its mirrors out to collect light from deep in the history of the universe.
After a 16-day voyage aboard the MN Colibri and a short stay in the water, James Webb arrived safely in French Guiana on October 5. He was taken from his transport container before the launch preparations.
NASA says that the first fuelling operation began November 25th, but took around 10 days.
At the Guiana Space Centre, the space telescope was secured to the Ariane 5 Rocket on Saturday December 11.
Webb will travel to an orbit about one million miles away from Earth and undergo six months of commissioning in space – including unfolding its mirrors and sunshield, cooling down, aligning and calibrating.
NASA claims that this will allow scientists to observe the Universe from around the globe.
Named after James E. Webb (American government official, who served as NASA administrator from 1961 through 1968) and was an integral part of the Apollo program.
NASA’s decision to name the device after him was a controversial one – he has been accused of homophobia since his passing in 1992 due to his role in the 1963 firing of a gay NASA employee.
In October, NASA announced that it will not rename the James Webb Telescope ahead of its launch in December, despite a petition against honouring a space pioneer who some have now claimed was homophobic.
Webb was 85 years old when he died in 1992. Webb took over from John F. Kennedy’s request in 1961.
The agency he ran until 1968 was his responsibility. He also played a key role in Apollo programs which would lead to Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong walking on the moon the year following his death.
Webb will travel to an orbit about one million miles away from Earth and undergo six months of commissioning in space – including unfolding its mirrors and sunshield, cooling down, aligning and calibrating
NASA states that “astronomers around the world will be then able to perform scientific observations to expand our understanding of this universe.”
This telescope was named in honor of James E. Webb who, from 1961 until 1968, served as NASA’s administrator and also played an important role in the Apollo Program.
Webb is primarily an infrared telescope. It will be more visible than Hubble, and it will operate farther out from Earth in a solar orbit.
Hubble lies approximately 340 miles above Earth’s surface. Webb is over one million miles away.
Research by Ohio State University claims that within five years of it coming online, James Webb will have found signs of alien life on a distant world.
Caprice Phillips is a graduate student who calculated it can detect ammonia made by living creatures on gas dwarf planets within a matter of orbits.
James Webb Space Telescope was described by some as a “time machine”, which could aid in unravelling the mysteries of our universe. Remote objects emit light that comes from farther back, and this is what James Webb Space Telescope claims to be.
Webb, a primary infrared telescope will provide a broad spectrum view of the Earth than Hubble. Webb also operates further from Earth in a solar orbit.
Ohio State University’s research suggests that James Webb would have signs of alien existence on distant planets within five year of its online launch
This telescope can be used for looking back at the very first galaxies that were born more than 13.5billion years ago in the early universe.
It can also monitor the stars, exoplanets, moons, planets, and other sources in the solar system.
The potential of the Webb telescope has inspired thousands of astronomers all over the globe.
Webb is being used by one group of scientists to observe the ‘cosmic dawn’, the moment when the stars of the universe first saw light billions of year ago.
The operating temperature of the James Webb Telescope as well as most instruments has an approximate 40 Kelvin. about minus 387 Fahrenheit.
James Webb’s lifespan is five years. NASA however hopes that it will last a decade. NASA has already seen Hubble outlive its life span by many decades. But unlike Hubble, James Webb can not be fixed.
The telescope will observe the Universe in the near-infrared and mid-infrared – at wavelengths longer than visible light. It is equipped with a range of high-tech cameras, spectrographs, and coronagraphs to do this.
ESA has procured the Ariane 5 Launcher and services. ESA contributes the NIRSpec Instrument and a part of the MIRI instrument.
These first images are not intended to be used as a guideline, but will serve as test shots. It could also copy Hubble or take an image showing Jupiter.
The first year of observation will see up to 30% of it devoted to exoplanets. It is intended to investigate their orbits, sizes, and atmospheres in the search for extraterrestrial life.