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WASHINGTON – NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is finally set to launch on December 18 on an Ariane 5 from French Guiana after years of development delays.
NASA, the European Space Agency and Arianespace announced on September 8 that they had chosen December 18 as the official launch date for the giant space observatory. ESA provides the launch as part of its contribution to the NASA-led mission in exchange for a share of observation time.
The mid-December date is slightly later than expected. NASA had announced a launch readiness date of October 31, but noted that the launch would take place after two Ariane 5 launches, about two months apart. One, carrying two communications satellites, took place on July 30.
Arianespace said the second, carrying the SES-17 and Syracuse-4A satellites, is now scheduled for October 22, rather than late September as planned.
The July 30 launch was the Ariane 5’s first in nearly a year to correct the fairing separation issues from the vehicle’s payload observed during two launches in February and August 2020. During these launches, the release of the fairing imposed higher payload loads than expected, but did not damage the satellites.
During a webinar hosted by the Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council on September 6, Vivian Quenet, managing director and head of Asia-Pacific region sales for Arianespace, said the July launch had not met the same payload fairing issues as the two 2020 Ariane 5 launch.
“There was a tightening issue, and noise and vibration that shouldn’t be there,” he said of previous launches. “The problem is solved.”
JWST itself is being prepared for shipment from a Northrop Grumman facility in Southern California to French Guiana. NASA announced on August 26 that it had completed final testing of the spacecraft and was packing it for the expedition. The telescope will be transported by boat, via the Panama Canal, to French Guiana, arriving in October to begin final preparations for the launch.
“We are on the right track, the spaceport is busy preparing for the arrival of this extraordinary payload, and the elements of Ariane 5 for this launch are gathering,” said Daniel Neuenschwander, director of space transportation at the ESA, in a press release. “We are fully committed, along with all Webb partners, to the success of this one-of-a-kind mission. “
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