The $ 10 billion James Webb Space Telescope is already preparing for shipment to the Kourou launch site, French Guiana. Finally, after many delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other reasons, the telescope will launch on December 18, 2021, according to a new NASA blog post. Hopefully there will be no further delays.
ESA, through an Ariane5 rocket, will be in charge of putting this telescope in space, a task that it is executing in exchange for a part of the observation time of this infrared space telescope, which will open a new window to the first galaxies of the cosmos .
So many delays have caused costs to skyrocket to unthinkable levels. While it’s a 20-meter-long telescope requiring 50 major deployments and 178 crucial release mechanisms, the process has gone through multiple engineering failures. Everything should work perfectly by the time the space telescope reaches its orbital position near a Sun-Earth LaGrange point that is 1.5 million kilometers from Earth and four times as far from the Moon.
James Webb telescope will reveal the dawn of the universe
“Webb is an exemplary mission that represents the epitome of perseverance,” said program director Gregory L. Robinson of the Webb mission, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “I am inspired by our team and our global partnerships that have made this incredible effort possible. Together, we have overcome technical hurdles along the way, as well as challenges during the coronavirus pandemic.” ” I am also grateful for the strong support of Congress. Now that we have an observatory and a rocket ready for launch, I look forward to the big day and the amazing science to come.”
Once it becomes operational, we will be able to observe the oldest moments of the early universe, including the most distant and ancient primitive galaxies, expanding our understanding of universal evolution and, by extension, our place in this dark window of heaven.
Earlier this year, Ohio State University researchers said the telescope could detect a sign of life on other planets in as little as 60 hours. We are at the beginning of a new stage .
