NASA Gives James Webb Telescope A Certificate Of Good Health Following Launch Readiness Incident

Soon: NASA has given the James Webb Space Telescope a good health after an unexpected incident during launch preparations earlier this week. Hopefully this little scare will pave the way for a smooth launch next month.

If you recall, NASA said Monday that a “sudden and unexpected release of a clamp” used to secure the telescope to a launch vehicle adapter caused a vibration that permeated the entire observatory. The space agency assembled a review board to fully investigate the matter, as even a small mishap at this stage of the game could jeopardize the entire project. That’s even truer considering that the telescope will not be repaired by humans once it reaches its destination in space more than 900,000 miles from Earth.

NASA in a follow-up said that engineering teams completed additional tests of the telescope, noting that there was no damage sustained as a result of the clamp incident.

With permission to continue, fueling operations began on November 25 and will take about 10 days to complete. If all else goes according to plan, the JWST will launch on December 22 at approximately 7:20 am Kourou Eastern Time in French Guiana courtesy of a Arianespace Rocket Ariane 5.

Despite multiple delays and cost overruns, the project has apparently reached the final stretch. Once in space, it should take about 30 days for the telescope to reach its target of the second Lagrange point, or L2. In the following months, Webb will run a series of tests to calibrate its mirrors. The first science operations will begin approximately six months after launch.