Tag: NASA
-
James Webb Space Telescope en route to L2; deployment sequence underway
Following a launch on December 25 atop an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket, the joint NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope is currently traveling toward the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2 (L2), where it is expected to orbit and perform future science observations. Liftoff occurred at 12:20 UTC from the ELA-3 launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre…
-
Telescope’s launch makes Christmas merry for space fans, but the ride has just begun
An Ariane 5 rocket lifts off with the James Webb Space Telescope. (ESA / CNES / Arianespace / JM Guillon) The most expensive telescope in the known universe has begun its journey to a vantage point a million miles from Earth with its launch from French Guiana. Today’s liftoff of an Ariane 5 rocket from…
-
NASA, ESA, CSA successfully launch the historic James Webb Space Telescope
It is a mission more than 25 years in the making. The revolutionary JWST (James Webb Space Telescope)—a partnership between NASA, the ESA (European Space Agency), and the CSA (Canadian Space Agency)— has launched atop its Ariane 5 rocket from launchpad ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Centre in South America. Liftoff of James Webb occurred…
-
High cost, high risk, high hopes: There’s a lot riding on the $10B James Webb Space Telescope’s launch
An Ariane 5 rocket is set to launch NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. (NASA Photo / Bill Ingalls) The launch of NASA’s $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope from French Guiana could mark a triumph in a tale that thousands of astronomers have been following for a generation. Or it could result in the deepest…
-
Engine controller replacement details behind Artemis 1 launch delay
On December 17, NASA announced a delay of the launch of the Artemis 1 mission until no earlier than March 2022. Artemis 1 will be the first launch of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to the Moon. The latest delay was caused at least in part…
-
NASA, SpaceX launch CRS-24 to the International Space Station
NASA and SpaceX launched the Commercial Resupply Services 24 (CRS-24) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) early Tuesday morning aboard a SpaceX Cargo Dragon 2 vehicle. Liftoff occurred at 5:07 AM EST (10:07 UTC) on Tuesday, December 21, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following launch and separation,…
-
NASA, SpaceX launch IXPE x-ray observatory atop Falcon 9
NASA and SpaceX have launched the revolutionary Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) space observatory from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Thursday morning atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 1:00 a.m. EST (06:00 UTC). IXPE is a 325 kg, three-telescope polarized x-ray observatory. A joint venture between NASA and the Italian Space…
-
Artemis 1 launch attempt constraints, rocket readiness slips to mid-February 2022
When NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime processing contractor Jacobs have configured the Artemis 1 Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle for launch day, they expect to have one-week periods to get the mission to the Moon off the ground. Between propellant consumption of the two liquid SLS stages and a 20-day long period…
-
Seeing the universe in the Mid-Infrared with James Webb’s MIRI instrument
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), presently tracking toward a launch no earlier than December 22 on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in South America, will revolutionize in-space astronomy, particularly with its Mid-InfraRed Instrument, or MIRI. The instrument itself requires special cooling to drop its temperature to just 6 Kelvin —…
-
NASA and CNES to begin SWOT testing as its launch date approaches
With less than one year to launch, France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and NASA are completing the final spacecraft assembly of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft. SWOT is a joint NASA and CNES mission with contributions by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA). The SWOT…