[U, X2] Troubling News Concerns NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: Delayed To 2020...

And a much later update, here. . . . UPDATED @ 8 PM EDT: NASA has put ot a press release, in which it reassures the space science community that the project will continue. Even so, I must say it is disconcerting to see an IRB established -- to address the repeated cost overruns -- and delays. I still think Webb will launch (eventually, in 2020), so I've softened my headline significantly. [End, updated portion.]

I will resolve, earnestly -- to try to remain upbeat -- but the second delay, in as many years. . . is rather ominous (especially given the vast sums we are spending on it).

As with all spacecraft, the longer one goes before hearing a ping -- the greater the probability that it is. . . lost, to the eternal night skies. . . .

Here is Sky & Telescope's write up, from about an hour ago:

. . . .This is about a year after the last delay that was announced, which had put the launch date between March and June of 2019. The delay had been foreshadowed in an independent government report issued earlier this month.

The exact launch window isn’t definite yet, though. NASA has heard from its own standing review board, whose report indicated additional time is needed, and now NASA is establishing an additional, independent review, which will assess the mission’s chance for success and nail down changes in cost and schedule. . . .

Webb is a top science priority within the astronomical community — many is the science paper that concludes with the necessity of obtaining Webb observations. The mission also represents NASA’s largest international space science project in U.S. history, including partnerships with the European and Canadian space agencies.

Once it’s finally launched, the 6.5-meter near-infrared telescope will orbit the Sun at the L2 Lagrange point, 1.5 million km farther out than Earth, a vantage point that will enable it to explore the cosmos as we’ve never seen it before. The telescope will peer back to the universe’s first stars and galaxies, seeing farther than the Hubble Space Telescope ever could. Astronomers will also use Webb to study nearby exoplanets, following up on planets discovered by the TESS mission, among others, characterizing their atmospheres, and looking for potential signs of life. . . .

Now you know -- and in empathy, I must admit: I think of lost Cassini, silent Voyager and increasingly quiet New Horizons. . . . and feel pangs of loss -- but usually now, only late at night.

Twisty darkened amber-colored goddesses all, now silent, in eternity, it seems. It is only at night, late. . . that I sense the loneliness of the lost pings. Truly. But it is real, nonetheless. And here I am, mourning this one -- not yet even launched. Smile. . . .



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