Behind the scenes with the James Webb Space Telescope

[Ron Schmit]

I was down at Johnson Space Center, last month, and got to meet with engineers from Northrop Grumman. They gave us some insight into the building of the JWST. Two words: Holy Crap!

I had NO idea what an amazing step forward in technology is this beast! WOW! It's akin to the Apollo program, when Kennedy said,

"But if I were to say, my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications,... and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out--then we must be bold."

Bold, indeed. You should see the science behind this thing. It is amazing. Gives me goosebumps.

Northrop Grumman put together a behind-the-scenes video called Into the Unknown, including interviews with the people behind the product, and it is fantastic:

http://www.northropgrumman.com/Corporat ... fault.aspx

Enjoy!

[JayB]

Ron, I watched that film, and see what you mean. I will be alternately cheering and chewing my fingernails when JWST receives its first light late next year. So much thought and work by so many people will come to fruition when the Webb unfolds and takes aim at the beginning of our Universe. Goosebumps, indeed.

[Ron Schmit]

We're absolutely, positively, sure we are going to be ready to launch in 201...2020.

Ah... I mean 2021.

NASA has delayed the launch of its huge, highly anticipated James Webb Space Telescope by another 10 months.
The liftoff of Webb, the successor to the agency's iconic Hubble Space Telescope, has been pushed back from May 2020 to March 2021, NASA officials announced today (June 27). The project's development cost has risen from $8 billion to $8.8 billion, and its total lifecycle price tag now stands at $9.66 billion, they added.

[petemn2004]

From a conference call this Wednesday:
“The cost of this delay (from 2018) is estimated by the IRB (Independent Review Board) to be $1 billion,” Thomas Young (who chaired the review board) said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday. “This 29-month delay is caused by five factors: human errors (wrong solvent to clean propulsion valves on the spacecraft - applied excessive voltage to transducers and improperly installed fasteners on Webb’s sunshield), embedded problems, lack of experience in areas such as the sunshield, excessive optimism, and systems complexity.”

As long as they have come this far and spent so much money - get the thing done right. Northrop Grumman needs to put on their A Game.