Raphael Thys
The launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has a new launch date following an “incident”.
The mission was scheduled to launch on 18 December. But NASA said earlier this week that there was a problem because final work on the launch was done and would have to be delayed.
As technicians were attaching the telescope to the Ariane 5 rocket, which will carry it into space, one of the clamp bands that secure it fell off and vibrated the observatory, NASA said. This forced it to stop work and conduct an assessment to see if there was any damage.
which has now been completed. It appears that no components were damaged in the incident and the observatory has been cleared to proceed with refueling.
NASA is working toward a new launch date on December 22 at 7.20 a.m. Eastern Time.
The telescope has been plagued by a number of issues and delays: it was originally slated for launch in 2007, and has since been pushed back for a variety of reasons. Over the past few years, problems including the pandemic and its rocketry have only caused further delays.
When it does finally launch, the telescope will be the most powerful space observatory ever operated from Earth. It will look deep into space in an effort to understand how galaxies form and the structure of the universe, as well as the atmospheres of distant planets to understand whether they can serve as homes for life. Able to “sniff”.
The mission has also faced criticism over its name. Some have argued that it should not be named after Webb, who ran the space agency during the time it worked to put humans on the Moon, but during the “Lavender Scare” state. He was also the under-secretary of the U.S. when several LGBTQ people were kicked out. of government service.
Credit: www.independent.co.uk /