Tag: Astrophysics
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NASA announces seven-month launch delay for JWST
The James Webb Space Telescope inside Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Redondo Beach, California, earlier this month. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn NASA officials said Thursday the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will be delayed seven months to Oct. 31, 2021, a schedule slip that takes into account work slowdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic…
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Coronavirus work stoppage likely to delay launch of NASA X-ray astronomy mission
Artist’s concept of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. Credit: NASA A nearly three-month stoppage of on-site work due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus at NASA’s Marshall Space Fight Center in Alabama is expected to push back the launch of the IXPE X-ray astronomy satellite from May 2021 until some time later next…
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NASA says JWST won’t be ready for launch in March 2021
Technicians inspect a critical part of the James Webb Space Telescope known as the Deployable Tower Assembly after fully extending it in the same maneuver it will perform in once in space. Credit: Northrop Grumman The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will not happen in March 2021 — the mission’s previously-scheduled launch date…
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SpaceX to debut satellite-dimming sunshade on Starlink launch next month
SpaceX plans to debut a new sunshade structure on its future Starlink satellites. Credit: SpaceX A new sunshade, or visor, designed to reduce the brightness of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband Internet satellites will debut on the company’s next launch, a measure intended to alleviate astronomers’ concerns about impacts on observations through ground-based telescopes, SpaceX founder Elon…
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Hubble still going strong 30 years after launch
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed from the space shuttle Discovery on April 25, 1990, one day after its launch from the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA Thirty years ago Friday, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched aboard the shuttle Discovery with a famously flawed mirror, the opening…
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NASA confirms work stoppage on James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope is seen during a sunshield deployment test in 2019 at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Redondo Beach, California. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn NASA and Northrop Grumman are “suspending integration and testing operations” on the James Webb Space Telescope in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a decision that officials said is likely to…
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NASA to consider WFIRST launch options after mission passes key review
Artist’s illustration of the WFIRST spacecraft. Credit: NASA NASA expects to select a launch vehicle next year to carry the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope — a multibillion-dollar flagship astrophysics observatory targeted for cancellation by the Trump administration — into space in 2025 after the mission passed a key review last month, agency officials said.…
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NASA uplinks final command to deactivate Spitzer telescope
Artist’s concept of the Spitzer Space Telescope seen against the infrared sky. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC) NASA declared the Spitzer Space Telescope’s 16-year mission complete Thursday after sending final commands for the spacecraft to enter hibernation as it drifts farther from Earth. The Spitzer Space Telescope, one of NASA’s original four “Great Observatories,” studied the…
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Government watchdog warns of another JWST launch delay
The James Webb Space Telescope is pictured during a sunshield deployment test in October 2019 at a Northrop Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, California. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn The James Webb Space Telescope is at risk of another launch delay beyond the mission’s current target launch date in March 2021, the Government Accountability Office said this…
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NASA prepares to shut down one of its ‘Great Observatories’
Artist’s concept of NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, backdropped by an image of the infrared sky. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA will say goodbye to the Spitzer Space Telescope this week after more than 16 years observing the most distant galaxies ever detected, planets orbiting other stars, and star-forming clouds of dust and gas. Spitzer, one of NASA’s four…