NASA delays James Webb Space Telescope launch date by at least seven months
- Reference: 1594972206
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/07/17/james_webb_space_telescope_launch_delay/
- Source link:
The delays are in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant fewer staff were able to work on the ‘scope and when they did work progress was slowed by “augmented safety precautions.” Those factors meant that a planned review of the project intended for April was concluded last week.
On top of showing that work has slowed, the review found unspecified “technical challenges” that will take extra time to overcome.
NASA therefore moved Webb’s target launch date from March 2021 to October of the same year.
“Although efficiency has been affected and there are challenges ahead, we have retired significant risk through the achievements and good schedule performance over the past year,” said Gregory Robinson, NASA Webb program director. “After resuming full operations to prepare for upcoming final observatory system-level environmental testing this [northern] summer, major progress continues towards preparing this highly complex observatory for launch.”
For now, work continues. NASA said that this week the ‘scope passed electrical testing, setting the stage for acoustics and vibration environmental tests in August. Ground system tests are under way.
When Webb launches it will use a 6.5m mirror (Hubble’s is just 2.4m) capable of observing red-shifted objects that Hubble can’t view. Boffins expect that those powers, plus its future home at the L2 Lagrange point, will give us our best-ever view of the universe.
The craft is also notable for its “origami” design that will see it perform a series of intricate unfolding manoeuvres to deploy its sun-shield and mirrors. ®
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[1] https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-new-james-webb-space-telescope-target-launch-date
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/04/24/famously_flawed_it_is_30/
[3] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Such a Project Manager will have been in reliable employment for a great deal of time...!
I pity the project manager.
which one ? You don't seriously think that the PM hasn't been sacked (or quit) several times already ?
Obligatory XKCD
https://xkcd.com/2014/
Having seen how clean rooms have to be for satellite builds (especially telescope mirrors) I am surprised that the virus has slowed things down. Surely once the machine is in the clean testing lab all the functional tests can be run from anywhere as it is just sending commands to the machine, or in the vibration tests shaking it a bit...
Sounds like a good excuse to me.
Clean-rooms are designed to filter out dust; they are not designed to filter out viruses (which are generally much smaller than dust particles). However that won't be the issue here; the actual issue is that the guys who work in the clean rooms and build the satellites often work closely together (i.e. much less than 2m); putting social distancing rules into effect is bound to slow things down since only 1 or 2 people will be able to work on the satellite at a time.
2021 a space impossibility
The 25th anniversary of when the project started.
Excellent work NASA and by "excellent" I mean being able to stretch a $500million project out to $10 billion
If there was a Nobel Prize for project management, they would undoubtedly win. Although in the same vein, those Nobels would also be running decades late and massively over budget, too.
Cost Plus
Is this another NASA wonderful Cost-Plus contract?
This is the way.
IIRC, when the project started in 1997, the launch was scheduled for 2007. 13 years later a new delay occurs... I pity the project manager.