Try to Contain Your Surprise. James Webb is Getting Delayed to 2020 (Universe Today)
Article written: 27 Mar , 2018
Updated: 28 Mar , 2018
by Matt Williams
Once it deploys, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be the most powerful and technically complex space telescope ever deployed. Using its powerful suite of infrared-optimized instruments, this telescope will be able to study the earliest stars and galaxies in the Universe, extra-solar planets around nearby stars, and the planets, moons and asteroids of our Solar System.
Unfortunately, due to its complexity and the need for more testing, the launch of the JWST has been subject to multiple delays. And as of this morning, NASA announced that the launch JWST has been delayed yet again. According to a statement issued by the agency, the launch window for the JWST is now targeted for sometime around May 2020.
The decision came after an independent assessment by the project’s Standing Review Board (SRB) of the remaining tasks, all of which are part of the final stage of integration and testing before the JWST launches. These tasks consist of integrating the combined optics and science instruments onto the spacecraft element, then testing them to ensure that they will deploy properly and work once they are in space.
This assessment came on the heels of a report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in February that expressed concerns over further delays and cost overruns. These concerns were based on the fact that it is typically in the final phase when problems are found and schedules revised, and that only 1.5 months of schedule reserved remained (at the time) until the end of the telescope’s launch window – which was scheduled for 2019.
***
more: https://www.universetoday.com/138886/try-contain-surprise-james-webb-getting-delayed-2020/
