NASA is preparing to launch the largest telescope to ever go to space.
On Christmas Eve, an Ariane 5 rocket will launch from Kourou Space Centre carrying a very expensive telescope. The telescope has been under construction for decades and cost nearly $10 Billion. It was built as a collaboration between NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency), and CSA (the Canadian Space Agency). [1]
Its launch site is in French Guiana, which is a French territory in South America. The territory is very small and is covered in lush tropical jungles. The GDP of French Guiana was only $4.313 Billion dollars in 2019, which is less than half the cost of the James Webb Space Telescope! The Kourou Space Centre creates a large portion of the jobs in the nation. Due to its proximity to the equator, any rocket launching from Kourou has a major advantage. A rocket launching near the equator requires less fuel to reach space because of the Earth's rotation. This phenomenon is explained well on this web page.
The Ariane 5 rocket is operated by Arianespace, a European rocket company. The heavy-lift rocket first flew in 1996 and has flown 111 times. The Ariane 5 is commonly used to launch geostationary satellites. It has two stages and two strap on SRBs. The first stage uses hypergolic propellants, which are highly toxic, and has a single Vulcain 2 engine. The second stage uses hydrogen and oxygen as a fuel and uses the HM7B engine. The Ariane 5 will be replaced by the Ariane 6 in the next few years. [2]
On December 3rd fueling of the telescope was completed and it was moved to the final assembly building. It was integrated with the Ariane 5 rocket on December 11th. After the fairing is installed around JWST, it will roll out to the launch pad. [3] You will be able to watch the launch live on NASA.gov/nasatv on December 24th, if there are no more delays.
The James Webb Space Telescope has 18 hexagonal mirrors that are made of beryllium and have an ultra-thin gold coating. It also has a huge sunshield that will keep it's 4 scientific instruments extremely cold. In order to fit inside the Ariane 5 it has been folded up in a very complicated way. Once in space it will navigate to Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, a point of stability 1.5 million km away from Earth. Once it's there it will unfold over a 28-day period. [4]
After deployment is completed, NASA will spend 6 months "commissioning" the satellite. Then scientific observations will begin. The research for the first year has already been selected and will include observations of Pluto, Uranus' Moons, and comets. The telescope will also study planets orbiting other stars, black holes, and galaxies. The things that we learn from JWST could revolutionize our understanding of the universe. [5]
I am so excited for this mission! This mission has been delayed so many times and it has required so much money. JWST has delayed other NASA missions and cancelled others, but I think this is okay. JWST is an engineering marvel! Everything about it is very sophisticated because it needs to be. The technologies that were developed for this mission could end up benefiting us in other ways. This telescope will unlock many of the universe's secrets over it's ten-year mission and could change our understanding of the big bang. The mission will probably be expanded beyond ten years, since NASA spacecraft tend to last a long time.
This telescope cost $10 Billion, that rocket better not explode!
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