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    NASA Says Webb’s Excess Fuel Likely to Extend its Lifetime Expectations

    Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket launches with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope onboard.

    After a successful launch of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Dec. 25, and completion of two mid-course correction maneuvers, the Webb team has analyzed its initial trajectory and determined the observatory should have enough propellant to allow support of science operations in orbit for significantly more than a 10-year science lifetime. (The minimum baseline for …

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    Aft Sunshield Pallet Deployed

    In this illustration, the multilayered sunshield on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope stretches out beneath the observatory’s honeycomb mirror

    Webb is beginning to resemble the form it will take when it is fully deployed – now that the mission operations team has successfully deployed and latched into place the observatory's forward and aft Unitized Pallet Structures. The team began working through the deployment of the forward pallet this morning, concluding at approximately 1:21 p.m. …

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    Forward Pallet Structure Lowered, Beginning Multiple-Day Sunshield Deployment

    Webb's final fold test in April 2021

    Early this afternoon the Webb mission operations team concluded the deployment of the first of two structures that hold within them Webb's most unpredictable and in many ways complicated component: the sunshield. The structures – called the Forward and Aft Unitized Pallet Structures – contain the five carefully folded sunshield membranes, plus the cables, pulleys, …

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    Webb’s Second Mid-Course Correction Burn

    In this illustration, the multilayered sunshield on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope stretches out beneath the observatory’s honeycomb mirror

    At 7:20 pm EST – 60 hours after liftoff — Webb's second mid-course correction burn began. It lasted 9 minutes and 27 seconds and is now complete. This burn is one of three planned course corrections to put the telescope precisely in orbit around the second Lagrange point, commonly known as L2.

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    More Details on Webb’s Launch

    Artist's impression of the James Webb Space Telescope, folded in the Ariane 5 rocket during launch.

    While the team continues to work on unfolding Webb, we take a moment to learn more about the launch from two European Space Agency (ESA) representatives, Daniel de Chambure, Acting Head Ariane 5 Adaptation & Future Missions for ESA and Maurice Te Plate, JWST NIRSpec Systems and AIV Engineer for ESA. They provide details about …

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    More Than You Wanted to Know About Webb’s Mid-Course Corrections!

    An drawing of Webb's orbit around the L2 point.

    On Dec. 25, the Webb team successfully executed the first of three planned orbit corrections to get Webb into its halo orbit around the second Lagrange point, L2. To hear more about these important maneuvers, here is Randy Kimble, the Webb Integration, Test, and Commissioning Project Scientist, at NASA Goddard: In sending the Webb Observatory …

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    Webb Antenna Released and Tested

    In this illustration, the multilayered sunshield on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope stretches out beneath the observatory’s honeycomb mirror

    Shortly after 10 am EST on Dec. 26, the Webb team began the process of releasing the gimbaled antenna assembly, or GAA, which includes Webb's high-data-rate dish antenna. This antenna will be used to send at least 28.6 Gbytes of science data down from the observatory, twice a day. The team has now released and …

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    The First Mid-Course Correction Burn 

    Visualization of James Webb Space Telescope initiating thrusters for a course correction burn.

    At 7:50 pm EST, Webb's first mid-course correction burn began. It lasted 65 minutes and is now complete. This burn is one of two milestones that are time critical — the first was the solar array deployment, which happened shortly after launch. This burn adjusts Webb's trajectory toward the second Lagrange point, commonly known as L2. After launch, Webb needs to make its own mid-course thrust correction maneuvers to get to its orbit. …

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    What it felt like at Mission Ops Control when we launched JWST

    Jane Rigby sits in front of her computers while supporting the launch of Webb.

    The James Webb Space Telescope is on its way! The mission launched on an Ariane 5 rocket at 7:20 a.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 25. Jane Rigby, the operations project scientist for Webb at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, told us what it was like to be supporting the launch from the …

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    Webb Is On Its Way!

    In this illustration, the multilayered sunshield on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope stretches out beneath the observatory’s honeycomb mirror

    The James Webb Space Telescope is safely in space, powered on and communicating with ground controllers. Webb continues in coast phase, and is now oriented correctly with respect to the Sun. The six reaction wheels of the spacecraft's attitude control system have been powered on, and they are now responsible for keeping the spacecraft pointing …

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