James Webb Space Telescope Launch December 22
 

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-...nment-59525740

https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/index.html

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....708b26a8bf.png
Whenever I see the artwork it reminds me of a popup book.

It is a tremendous acheivement and like everybody who works in the industry I hope the launch goes OK. We all know what it's like to see all our hard work get launched so fingers crossed for those few minutes.

It is origami writ large.

As big as a school bus upon launch, then it unfolds at a Lagrange point.

Indeed.
Weeks of terror they were saying as it sequentially unfolds - too far away for any human to intervene if it goes wrong.
The pictures will be amazing.

Yea, decades of work and several billion dollars at risk - both during the launch and the subsequent weeks of it doing its origami trick.
Best of luck - I'm really hoping they got it all right this time. No going back to fix it like they did Hubble...

Couldn't they simply bundle a programmable robot along for the ride who could operate a screwdriver, a soldering iron, a rag, and an ability to search Google for answers in order to keep any operational glitches under control for the life of the satellite by having the robot work under guidance by his/her superiors at the base station on Earth.

Now there's a commercial idea - Royal Spacecraft Club Orbitside Assist.

Technical complications aside (there are going to be lots of fingers, toes, legs and…:ooh: crossed, mine included) just a reminder about who this James Webb bloke was…It’s not been normal for NASA to name projects after politicians but Webb was probably the politician who did most to get America to the Moon by the end of the 60s…it’s rumoured he certainly knew where the bodies were buried..

James E. Webb and the Grand Strategy of the Moon Landing: A Political, Administrative, and Contextual Analysis - Inquiries Journal

James Webb Telescope Launch
 

Nasa sets new date for James Webb space telescope launch

The much-delayed launch of the James Webb space telescope will go ahead on 24 December, Nasa and the company overseeing the launch have confirmed.…

“The James Webb Space Telescope is confirmed for the target launch date of December 24,” tweeted launch company Arianespace, adding that it would go ahead at 12:20 GMT on that day.

Confirming the launch date, Nasa tweeted that the telescope was “encapsulated inside its @Ariane5 rocket fairing”…..

This is quite exciting for me. I’m studying Astronomy and Planetary Science and JWST has the capability to do some great observations into the past state of the Universe, as well as others.

It’ll be a rather nerve wracking experience for a lot of scientists though. Hopefully the launch, journey to its Lagrange point and unfurling will be smooth🤞🏻.

Let’s hope they got the focus correct on this one…. :8

An interesting project, I’m looking forward to hearing how this goes.

NASA press release with details of timings/streaming/viewing options.

NASA Info, Public viewing…

My plans for the Christmas Eve: Watch the launch.

https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/countdown.html

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/

National Public Radio featured several astrophysicists discussing the Webb recently:

https://the1a.org/segments/the-launc...l-we-discover/

Fingers crossed, knocking on wood. Ancient best wishes for a successful launch and deployment.

P.S., Thank you mods for moving this thread here from JetBlast. This is probably a more appropriate forum, although many on Jet Blast watch the distant skies.

Nasa to launch newest space telescope on Christmas Day

Dangerously high winds will keep Nasa’s newest space telescope on the ground for at least an extra day, with the launch now targeted for Saturday – Christmas Day – at the earliest.

Bet that went down well. 😁

Fingers crossed! Still on for a 12:20 UTC launch. Anyone nervous? $10bn worth of technology as well as a LOT of work on this ride 😅.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....4f13212fd.jpeg

Launch teams monitor the countdown to the launch of Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket carrying NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021, in the Jupiter Center at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST or Webb) is a large infrared telescope with a 21.3 foot (6.5 meter) primary mirror. The observatory will study every phase of cosmic history—from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

I gather it launched ok. So far so good...

Yes. And the solar panels are deployed and providing electricity.

Deployment sequence; you can click on each step (at the top of the screen) and see when things are supposed to happen. It’ll take 29 days to get to the L2 point.

https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLa...tExplorer.html

Another NASA site showing progress to L2 and the deployment.

https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/we...ereIsWebb.html

Is the mirror image of a photo meant to avoid copyright law for stealing someone else’s photo?

I see it so many times that I can’t imagine any other explanation.

FWIW NASA photos are copyright free, as our tax dollars paid for them, so you can use and abuse them any way you want to.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

! raeR hO……..

I am told that there was such a sign on the Webb and that it WAS removed before launch. ;-)

xkcd’s take on the launch!
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....45a69990a.jpeg

https://xkcd.com/2559/

Santa flies in a low earth orbit at night. No collision possible. ;-)

But he probably flies faster than the speed of light, which is impressive.

I thought Santa flew Near-Earth Orbit Extremely Low (NOEL).

Id have to check NASA records for the first NOEL....

A very good video on the design and engineering:

Heat shield now fully deployed and tensioned. JWT now the coolest thing in space!

BBC report on the heat shield:

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59873738

Really good news.

Secondary Mirror Deployment Confirmed

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/01/05/secondary-mirror-deployment-confirmed/

All fully deployed. What an amazing achievement

It is indeed..:D

https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/we...tExplorer.html

They did the burn for the insertion orbit around the L2 point

“Scientists and engineers operating NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will answer questions about the mission’s latest milestones in a NASA Science Live broadcast at 3 p.m. EST Monday, Jan. 24, followed by a media teleconference at 4 p.m.“

https://www.nasa.gov/nasasciencelive

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-webb-t...hexagonal.html

Webb team brings 18 dots of starlight into hexagonal formation

NASA have released a new image that they say demonstrates that JWST's optics are 'working successfully'. The image shows an extremely promising level of detail in the surrounding area of the star they arbitrarily chose to focus on. Which incidentally is 100 times feinter than you'd be able to see with the naked eye from Earth. :O

NASA’s Webb Reaches Alignment Milestone, Optics Working Successfully | NASA