The James Webb Telescope will not launch on October 31, as originally planned. For now, no other date has been set, but a priori, the observatory will not reach space before mid-November.
The James Webb Telescope is not its first report. The instrument was originally to be launched in 2018. Since then, technical problems have continued to push back the launch date, always increasing the bill a little more. Just a year ago, the telescope was scheduled for launch in March 2020. Then the Covid-19 pandemic seeped into the equation. Last summer, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) finally set the date for October 31, 2021. Unfortunately, we will still have to wait. But until when?
During a press briefing with reporters on Tuesday, Telescope Launch Services Manager Beatriz Romero highlighted three factors to consider:telescope expedition, Ariane 5 rocket readiness, and spaceport readiness in Guyana.
Regarding the first point, NASA plans to ship the telescope to the launch site by boat at the end of the summer (the agency is careful not to specify a date due to the risk of piracy). The launch campaign, which begins when the telescope arrives in Guyana, then lasts 55 days.
Regarding the second point, remember that the Ariane 5 launcher, responsible for launching the telescope, has been immobilized since August 2020 due to a fairing problem. However, Arianespace officials said the cause of the issue has been addressed.
On the other hand, we know that Ariane 5 must launch two missions before that of the American telescope. And the one before that of the JWT recently slipped in the third quarter. However, we know that the American mission could not be launched until approximately four months after the last flight of the launcher. If we count on a last launch at the beginning of the third quarter, that is to say at the beginning of July, then the launch of the JWT cannot take place before November.
Finally, there is the problem of the health situation in Guyana, where operations have been slowed down by the COVID-19 crisis. Vaccines are not yet widely available in this territory. The behavior of the epidemic over the coming weeks will therefore have to be taken into account in determining a new launch date. A priori, this can only be fixed this summer, or even at the beginning of autumn.
Of course, it's always a little disappointing to see the launch of the JWT systematically postponed. However, it should be remembered that deploying this observatory more than a million kilometers from Earth will require more than 180 careful maneuvers in the first weeks after launch. If any of these maneuvers fail, the telescope will be lost. Also, all lights should be green.
So if we have to wait a few more weeks for everything to be ready, we'll wait.
