Now, the oft-delayed $10 billion telescope has an official launch date: December 18, 2021.
#JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE LAUNCH DATE MOVIE#
Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday.NASA announced in August that the James Webb Space Telescope had passed its final ground-based tests and was being prepared for shipment to its launch site in Kourou, French Guiana. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science since 2015. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. She was contributing writer for (opens in new tab) for 10 years before joining full-time, freelancing since 2012.
Įlizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. "Webb will reveal new and unexpected discoveries, and help humanity understand the origins of the universe and our place in it."įollow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter. "It will explore every phase of cosmic history – from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe, and everything in between," the agency said in a November blog post (opens in new tab) about the mission. Critics of the administrator claim that he was complicit in discrimination against gay and lesbian NASA employees during his tenure, including incidents such as the 1963 "immoral conduct" firing of Clifford Norton (opens in new tab).īut with the generational observatory finally on the eve of launch, NASA is hoping all the effort will be worth it. The moniker is meant to honor James Webb, NASA's second-ever administrator who led the agency from 1961 to 1968 while it was preparing for human landing missions. The naming of the Webb telescope has also been criticized, reports indicate. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope looks squeaky clean at spaceport for December launch (photos) House spending bill fires warning shot at James Webb Space Telescope NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: Hubble's cosmic successor Webb will be too far for such help, but NASA has said prime contractor Northrop Grumman tested all systems thoroughly ahead of launch. Hubble is also famous for accidentally going to space with a flawed mirror, which required a crew of astronauts to repair. This means Webb's budgetary trajectory also followed in the footsteps of Hubble, which launched over-budget and later than expected.
(The pandemic also hurt the schedule in 2020.) The Atlantic notes (opens in new tab) the original project scope called for Webb to fly in 2007 with a budget of $500 million (roughly $667 million in 2021 dollars), but technology advances and unforeseen difficulties contributed to delays. Webb has overcome numerous technical challenges, budgetary inflations and threats of cancellation over its complex development - including a last-minute unexpected release of a clamp band that pushed the launch by a few more days. With more aperture available, Webb will gather more light and more detail on celestial destinations.Īn artist's illustration of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in space. There, far from light interference from Earth, Webb will turn its attention to the early universe, to exoplanet atmospheres and other science using a fold-out telescope almost 22 feet (21.6 meters) across, roughly three times the aperture of the 1990s-era Hubble (8 feet or 2.4 meters). The telescope will journey to an isolated spot about 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) from Earth known as a Lagrange point, a gravitationally stable spot between two celestial bodies. With the $9.8 billion Webb ready to pick up the baton after years of developmental delays, scientists expect the telescope will push even further back in time.
Hubble's topline science includes showing the universe is accelerating in its expansion, finding new moons around Pluto, and helping to construct 3-D maps of dark matter. Agency officials are framing Webb as a successor to the venerable Hubble Space Telescope, which means Webb has a big mandate to fill.
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