James Webb Space Telescope

[You Need a Thneed]

[psyang]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

Fixed your link

[calumniate]

Ludicrous speed!

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

The super advanced alien race Lanny keeps talking about in the other thread probably thinks this little telescope is so adorable.

Or they can't wait until it is fully deployed so they can shoot it down. Or better yet, buzz around it in ways that MAY be aliens, but who can say?

[zamler]

What makes people think beings not on Earth are aliens?

[81MC]

Originally Posted by zamler

What makes people think beings not on Earth are aliens?

The definition of the word?

[zamler]

Originally Posted by 81MC

The definition of the word?

When they are on Earth they are aliens, out in space if that is their native locale we are the aliens. Why do I have to explain this lol.

[jayswin]

But we're the observer in all situations from our perspective, which would make them aliens no matter where they or we are, no?

[KootenayFlamesFan]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1479817105990160392

[Sluggo]

Will want to see data come from Webb first before I get too excited. Always a slight chance that an unexpected issue could arise, hopefully NASA did not source the gyroscopes from Hubble or Kepler and the thing doesn't decide to do a barrel roll like the space station did this summer (albeit that was a Russian module issue). Would also suck if the Sun decides to fry the thing as we are getting close to the max in the 11 year cycle although the Earth is right in line too and would cause substantial issues here.

[Snuffleupagus]

From NASA:

WEBB IS FULLY DEPLOYED!

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Sluggo

Will want to see data come from Webb first before I get too excited. Always a slight chance that an unexpected issue could arise, hopefully NASA did not source the gyroscopes from Hubble or Kepler and the thing doesn't decide to do a barrel roll like the space station did this summer (albeit that was a Russian module issue). Would also suck if the Sun decides to fry the thing as we are getting close to the max in the 11 year cycle although the Earth is right in line too and would cause substantial issues here.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Sluggo

Will want to see data come from Webb first before I get too excited. Always a slight chance that an unexpected issue could arise, hopefully NASA did not source the gyroscopes from Hubble or Kepler and the thing doesn't decide to do a barrel roll like the space station did this summer (albeit that was a Russian module issue). Would also suck if the Sun decides to fry the thing as we are getting close to the max in the 11 year cycle although the Earth is right in line too and would cause substantial issues here.

There are things that can wrong of course as there is some uncertainty. The biggest one for me is there is no way of knowing how many small rocks ranging in size from grains of sand to baseballs are flying around in that L2 area. We simply have o information on that and it is possible that as soon as the satellite gets into that area, it gets shredded. All we can do is wait and see what happens. People think space is just an empty vacuum in between celestial objects, but there is a lot of debris out there. In fact, NASA took this into consideration and assumes that it will get hit be objects occasionally. They reinforced the heat shield to account for this, but there is only so much you can do when the weight has to be kept at a minimum. Or that area of space might be fairly empty and there is no danger at all. It is practically impossible to predict.

For the most part though, I don't think there are a lot of unknowns. They learned a lot from the successes and failures of Hubble, and this isn't really different. It is more complicated, but is essential still just sticking a satellite into space. Most variables can be anticipated and planned for.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

There are things that can wrong of course as there is some uncertainty. The biggest one for me is there is no way of knowing how many small rocks ranging in size from grains of sand to baseballs are flying around in that L2 area. We simply have o information on that and it is possible that as soon as the satellite gets into that area, it gets shredded. All we can do is wait and see what happens. People think space is just an empty vacuum in between celestial objects, but there is a lot of debris out there. In fact, NASA took this into consideration and assumes that it will get hit be objects occasionally. They reinforced the heat shield to account for this, but there is only so much you can do when the weight has to be kept at a minimum. Or that area of space might be fairly empty and there is no danger at all. It is practically impossible to predict.

For the most part though, I don't think there are a lot of unknowns. They learned a lot from the successes and failures of Hubble, and this isn't really different. It is more complicated, but is essential still just sticking a satellite into space. Most variables can be anticipated and planned for.

I read somewhere a while ago they kind of expect the heat shields to take a beating over the years as most particles come from the direction of the sun.

[SebC]

L2 shouldn't really be a debris field. It's an unstable equilibrium point and requires station keeping, which space rocks don't do. And we've already sent satellites there, so it's not unexplored territory.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

There are things that can wrong of course as there is some uncertainty. The biggest one for me is there is no way of knowing how many small rocks ranging in size from grains of sand to baseballs are flying around in that L2 area. We simply have o information on that and it is possible that as soon as the satellite gets into that area, it gets shredded. All we can do is wait and see what happens. People think space is just an empty vacuum in between celestial objects, but there is a lot of debris out there. In fact, NASA took this into consideration and assumes that it will get hit be objects occasionally. They reinforced the heat shield to account for this, but there is only so much you can do when the weight has to be kept at a minimum. Or that area of space might be fairly empty and there is no danger at all. It is practically impossible to predict.

For the most part though, I don't think there are a lot of unknowns. They learned a lot from the successes and failures of Hubble, and this isn't really different. It is more complicated, but is essential still just sticking a satellite into space. Most variables can be anticipated and planned for.

As SebC said, L2 isn't a stable lagrange point so there's nothing likely to be hanging out there. This is also not the first visit to L2, there have been satellites before that have operated before with no issue.

[Sluggo]

Yeah I'm not that concerned about debris either as others have mentioned l2 is somewhat unstable hence the telescope bringing fuel for station keeping albeit it has a higher chance just due to the nature of its large size but that's nothing compared to the danger if it was in low earth orbit.

In addition, I like to start from a place of pessimism in order to be pleasantly surprised at the end. It did survive launch and the complicated deployment which were the largest risks (I did have a pretty vivid dream of the rocket blowing up at launch a month before the successful launch) however, seeing many fist bumping on the internet like it is a done deal has me worried that they are putting a massive jinx on it.

[jayswin]

Luckily jinxing isn't a real thing and the success of this telescope will be independent of fans and enthusiasts fist bumping on the internet.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Luckily jinxing isn't a real thing and the success of this telescope will be independent of fans and enthusiasts fist bumping on the internet.

Well Jinxes are massless so travel at the speed of light so there is plenty of time for the jinx to affect it.

[Lanny_McDonald]

I'm excited to see the advancements in planetary spectroscopy this device will present. This will be crucial in identifying planets and moons that have to conditions to possibly support the conditions for life.