PAGE 10
s Go for the
ie Sims
With its original launch date set for 2007, the JWST has been plagued with its fair share of delays. The original budget was set at $500million USD however with all the delays, by the time of the launch, this had blown out to $10billion USD. Delays took many forms ranging from funding to technical issues. Starting with the threat of project cancellation in 2011. Then design challenges with the propulsion system and a discovery that the sunshield may snag on other components in 2018. The COVID pandemic added further delays in 2020 followed by issues with the readiness of the Ariane 5 launch vehicle and site in 2021. During the final phase of preparation, a clamp unexpectedly released during attachment to the rocket causing potentially damaging vibrations. This was followed by the discovery of an electrical fault in early December 2021. Finally, unfavourable weather predictions pushed back the launch to no earlier than 12:20 UCT on the 25th December. Finally, years of research, designing and testing culminated in the successful launch on Christmas Day 2021. 31 minutes into the mission the solar array was deployed allowing the JWST to power up ready for instrument operation and communication. This was the first crucial step in the 50 major deployments required to fully unfurl into an operational observatory. 10 days after launch on the 4th January 2022 another of JWST’s innovative critical features completed deployment. A tennis court sized sunshield unfurled successfully. This process employed 139 of Webb’s 178 release mechanisms, 70 hinge assemblies, eight deployment motors, 400 pulleys, and 90 individual cables totaling roughly one quarter of a mile (0.4km) in length. Made up of 5 layers each as thin as a human hair this sunshield is designed to protect the scientific instruments on board from heat that would disrupt its ability to view and collect clear low noise images and data.
2022 AUTUMN EDITION
pace Telescope
