Fweethawt Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 http://www.iflscience.com/space/nasa-huge-new-space-telescope-finally-complete/ Rejoice, all ye astronomers. Because after years of delays and billions of dollars in overruns, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is finally complete. It’s been a long time coming. The huge new space telescope, the biggest ever built, was unveiled yesterday at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. With its 18 gold-plated hexagonal mirrors measuring 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) across, and a sunshield the size of a tennis court, the JWST will have 100 times the observing power of Hubble when it launches in 2018. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LogicalFallacy Posted November 4, 2016 Moderator Share Posted November 4, 2016 Holy s***! Yeah! 100 times the power of Hubble. Imagine what we will be able to see!... why 2018? Why not now? Blighters, get that scope into place and start looking at stuff. Oh they have to test it... right. Possibly a lot of current universe estimates may be overturned. Exciting times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornagainathiest Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 I just hope that this kinda thing doesn't happen to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LogicalFallacy Posted November 4, 2016 Moderator Share Posted November 4, 2016 Oh my... that would be a colossal waste of money and huge scientific setback! You made me sad... it's like being told I might end up in hell. I think I'll go to bed now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornagainathiest Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Oh my... that would be a colossal waste of money and huge scientific setback! You made me sad... it's like being told I might end up in hell. I think I'll go to bed now. It need not be sad, LF. I just thought it was appropriate for us to understand that this kind of project is a high risk venture. The launch could go perfectly and the JWST could meet (or exceed) every single one of it's mission targets. After all, just look at how much the Opportunity Mars rover has exceeded it's 92 day life expectancy. (Currently 4,667 days and still going strong!) Thanks, BAA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ Fuego ♦ Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 I wonder if/when we'll get past having to use rockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LogicalFallacy Posted November 5, 2016 Moderator Share Posted November 5, 2016 I think so Fuego. Well let me clarify, if we are to seriously look at space exploration then we will have to massively upgrade our tech. Warp speed anyone? BAA I was slightly exaggerating... I probably shouldn't be on here posting at 12:20am when my brain is running on adrenaline I just hope that the people that dish out the research money realize its high risk and don't pull funds if something fails. If something fails, more funds are needed to try again and improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voice Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 I wonder if/when we'll get past having to use rockets. I think about this all the time and look at calcs too. Despite what seems obvious, the short powerful burst is the most cost effective for heavy payloads. Light weight, minor payloads could be and have been done more efficiently with gradual incline escapes. Seems a maglev incline would work. I'd love to see that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantheory Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 I just hope that this kinda thing doesn't happen to it! Yes, as I have read, placing the James Webb at a Lagrangian point will be a somewhat risky venture, besides all the other things that could go wrong with the scope, its launching and staging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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