Construction Of The Successor To The Hubble Space Telescope Is Completed
By: David M. Edwards B.S., M.B.A.
David’s Professional LinkedIn Profile can be viewed by clicking here.
The deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope by the crew of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (N.A.S.A.) Space Transport Mission 31 (S.T.S. – 31) on April 25, 1990 into earth orbit transmogrified the scientific field of astronomy. For over twenty-five (25) years the Hubble space telescope has provided precious and invaluable images that have enormously expanded the genuine human acknowledgment, comprehension, and understanding of the universes. For example, on February 22, 2018 N.A.S.A publicly released Hubble’s photographic image of M16 (Eagle Nebula), nicknamed “The Pillars of Creation” shown as this lead photograph for this story. In this picture the “active star-forming region” or “Womb” of the nebula is visualized in spectacular detail. More information on The Pillars of Creation can be found by clicking here (NASA-a, 2018).
The successor to the Hubble Space Telescope has been long overdue. The United States (U.S.) National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (N.A.S.A.) James Webb (termed Webb) Space Telescope completed final assembly in Redondo Beach, California (U.S.) at Northrop Grumman’s facilities on August 28, 2019, according to Cesari (2019). “Once it reaches space, NASA’s most powerful and complex space telescope will explore the cosmos using infrared light, from planets and moons within our solar system to the most ancient and distant galaxies” (Cesari , 2019).
In stark contrast to the earth orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, the Webb Space Telescope will orbit the sun 1.5 million kilometers (1 million miles) away from earth, according to NASA (2019). In this environment and Geo–Space–Position the Webb is “expected to operate at about 100 times the sensitivity of the Hubble Space Telescope,” according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2019).
The majority of the Webbs’ estimated cost of $9.7 Billion ($9,700,000,000) United States Dollar (U.S.D.) will be covered by N.A.S.A., through U.S. Federal Government and U.S. Taxpayer resourced funding, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (2019).
Similarly and like the United Star Ships (U.S.S.) Enterprise (NCC–1701) spaceship in the iconic original Star Trek television show (broadcast dates 1966-1969), the Webb “is being designed for a 5-year mission to find the first stars, study planets in other solar systems to search for the building blocks of life elsewhere in the universe, and trace the evolution of galaxies from their beginning to their current formation,” according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2019).
Next, the Webb “will go through additional environmental and deployment testing to ensure mission success” (Cesari , 2019).
The Webb is scheduled for launch in 2021, according to Cesari (2019).
Detailed information and specifications of the Webb can be found on N.A.S.A.’s James Webb Space Telescope website (https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/) by clicking here.
References:
Cesari, T. (2019, August 28). NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Has Been Assembled For The
First Time. www.Nasa.gov.
Retrieved
from:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasa-s-james-webb-space-telescope-has-
been-assembled-for-the-first-time
NASA-a. (2018). The Pillar of Creation. http://www.Nasa.gov
Retrieved
from:
https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/about/orbit.html
NASA-b. (2019). About Webb Orbit. www.jwst.nasa.gov
Retrieved
from:
https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/about/orbit.html
U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2019, March). Report To Congressional Committees:
James Webb Space Telescope; Opportunities Nears to Provide Additional Assurance That Project
Can Meet New Cost and Schedule Commitments. www.Gao.gov
Retrieved
from:
AeroSpace-Weekly (A.W.) 