![]() ![]() Only then can the telescope begin collecting data and images of the cosmos for us to marvel at on Earth. Once at its post, further system checks and adjustments will take another five months to complete. ![]() After that, it will take a further ten days to move all 18 mirror segments into their correct positions, and Webb’s operators on Earth will spend the next few months fine-tuning their alignment. Twelve days post-launch, the telescope’s primary mirror will begin to unfold. NASA calls this the “29 days on the edge” because of how many important things have to go right in order for Webb to reach its permanent parking spot - which is also known as Lagrange Point 2 - in one, operational, piece.Ī little more than two days after launch, the telescope will soar by the Moon, soundly beating the Apollo missions’ travel time by about 8 hours. ![]() Part of the reason why is because of where the Webb will lie in space - the telescope will take 29 days to reach its orbital point, which is a million miles from Earth. The James Webb Space Telescope won’t start studying the universe until around 6 months after the launch. When will the James Webb Space Telescope be operational? Between 31 and 33 minutes after separation, the telescope’s solar array will extend and begin powering Webb’s systems.At 28 minutes after liftoff, Webb will separate from the launch vehicle.Shortly after this happens, Webb should send its first communications to operators on the ground.About 206 seconds after liftoff, the fairing that protects the space telescope from the wind and friction of launch will open, exposing Webb to space for the first time.You can watch the James Webb Space Telescope launch on NASA’s live-streaming channel, NASA Live.Īfter the rocket clears the launch pad, watch for a few major timestamps: How to watch the James Webb Telescope launch livestream On launch day, those requirements allow just a 30-minute window in which Webb will have to launch - or it will have to wait for another day. In other words, the James Webb Space Telescope launch has to happen during the right season and at the right time of day. It needs to leave Earth when our planet’s axis is tilted in the right direction, and when the launch site is pointed toward the right area of space. Webb’s launch has to be carefully timed to put the telescope on the right path. It will blast off from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, headed for an orbit around the second Lagrange point, or L2, where the gravitational pull of Earth is equal to the gravitational pull of the Sun. That date was moved from December 24 due to weather issues in French Guiana. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST, or Webb for short) is scheduled to launch on December 25, 2021, at 7:20 Eastern Standard Time. The Ariane5 is a reliable rocket that NASA has used multiple times to send critical science missions to space. ![]()
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