A photo of the NASA / ESA / CSA James Webb Space Telescope after a successful deployment test of its primary mirror in the same configuration it will have when it is in space. Credit: NASA / Chris Gunn
The launch of the POT/ ESA / CSA James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana is now planned for October 31, 2021.
NASA has announced the decision, based on a recently completed schedule risk assessment of remaining integration and testing activities prior to launch, taking into account the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic and technical challenges. Previously, Webb was released for March 2021.
Testing of the observatory continues well at Northrop Grumman, the mission’s primary industry partner in Redondo Beach, California, despite the challenges of the coronavirus situation. Factors for the new release date include the impacts of increased safety precautions, reduced on-site staffing, shift work interruption, and technical challenges. This year, a final set of complex environmental tests of the entire observatory will be completed followed by a final deployment of the telescope and parasol.
“Webb is an unprecedented effort in space science, requiring the utmost ingenuity in the scientific and technical fields, in a very strong international partnership,” said Professor Günther Hasinger, ESA’s Director of Science. “Revolutionary science enabled by Webb will revolutionize our understanding of the Universe.”
Artist’s view of the James Webb space telescope on an Ariane 5 launcher. Credit: ESA – D. Ducros
The observatory will detect light from the first generation of stars and galaxies that formed in the early Universe and study the atmospheres of habitable exoplanets.
As part of the collaboration with NASA, Europe is contributing to the Webb Observatory with two critical scientific instruments: the NIRSpec spectrograph and the MIRI mid-infrared instrument, and the launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. In addition, there is a contingent ESA scientists and engineers supporting the development of the observatory and scientific operations.
Next year, Webb will be folded into its launch configuration for shipment to the launch site and will be installed inside the Ariane 5 launcher fairing (approximately 5m wide). On his journey into space, Webb will be the first mission to complete a series of intricate and technically challenging deployments, a critical part of Webb’s journey to orbit approximately one and a half million kilometers from Earth. Webb will unfold his delicate five-layer parasol until it reaches the size of a tennis court. It will then unfold its 6.5m primary mirror that will detect faint light from distant stars and galaxies.
Webb will be the next big space science observatory, and will build on the success of another international effort, the Hubble space telescope, to solve the mysteries of our Solar System, explore distant worlds around other stars and discover the origins of our Universe.
The James Webb Space Telescope is an international project led by NASA with its partners, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency.
