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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is lagging behind and is not late. NASA had originally planned to prepare the spacecraft as early as 2007, but an exhaustive list of setbacks (and stupid human errors on the part of the manufacturer Northrop Grumman) has postponed the project for more than a decade and about 20 times its initial cost. .
With so much money invested in a project, you can bet that NASA is eager to see signs of serious progress, especially with the tentative launch window of 2021 coming up fast. The good news is that half of the telescope has just completed a series of tests on its manufacturing site, thus offering a vacuum chamber designed to enable it to cope with the conditions it would face in the space .
The telescope is built in two parts. One half contains the telescope itself as well as various scientific instruments, and the other half is the spaceship platform that allows it to move and maintain its orbit. Half of the spacecraft is the part that has just completed its vacuum chamber tests, which has allowed it to withstand temperatures from minus 235 degrees Fahrenheit to 215 degrees Fahrenheit.
"Teams from Northrop Grumman and NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center are to be congratulated for the success of the satellite's thermal vacuum test, devoting long hours to achieving their current goal," said Jeanne Davis, James Program Manager. Webb, in a statement. "This incredible achievement paves the way for the next major step, which is the integration of the telescope and spacecraft elements."
The announcement is long, but it's certainly a big step forward in the James Webb program. It is of course crucial to ensure that all components work as intended once they have penetrated into space, but many obstacles still have to be overcome before the telescope is ready to move toward the sky. The integration of all components takes time and new problems can arise at any time. Let's hope that the date of 2021 is respected and that NASA is not obliged to delay it again.
Source of image: NASA
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