James Webb Space Telescope

Editor's Note, Dec. 8, 2021: This post has been updated with more accurate fueling figures. In preparation for launch later this month, ground teams have successfully completed the delicate operation of loading the James Webb Space Telescope with the propellant it will use to steer itself while in space. In order to make critical course …

On Wednesday, Nov. 17, NASA Headquarters held its final review for the mission prior to launch. A week later, on Nov. 24, a review committee approved Webb's transition to the next stage in its preparations for launch. This week we've asked NASA's Randy Kimble, Webb's integration, test, and commissioning project scientist, to tell us how …

As we approach the launch of our incredible mission, we asked people across the mission to share why they are grateful for Webb. I am thankful for… "the wonderful engineers, project leaders, and skilled technicians who crafted the amazing Webb machine that will enable us to fulfill our science vision!" —Heidi B. Hammel, Webb interdisciplinary …

Engineering teams have completed additional testing confirming NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is ready for flight, and launch preparations are resuming toward Webb's target launch date of Wednesday, Dec. 22, at 7:20 a.m. EST. Additional testing was conducted this week to ensure the observatory's health following an incident that occurred when the release of a …

The launch readiness date for the James Webb Space Telescope is moving to no earlier than Dec. 22 to allow for additional testing of the observatory, following a recent incident that occurred during Webb's launch preparations. The incident occurred during operations at the satellite preparation facility in Kourou, French Guiana, performed under Arianespace overall responsibility. …

We continue to explore Webb's instrumentation this week, highlighting the Canadian contributions to the mission. As you'll see, the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) instrument is ideally suited for studying two of Webb's scientific themes. Scientists will use NIRISS to take advantage of the natural phenomenon of the atmospheric transmission of transiting exoplanets and …

As progress continues in Kourou, we check in with another one of Webb's instruments, the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), and its scientific lead, Pierre Ferruit: "It was more than 20 years ago that the European Space Agency (ESA) teamed up with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency to build the amazing James Webb Space Telescope! The …

In Kourou, Webb went through a thorough checkout called the Comprehensive Systems Test (#6). The test included turning on all of the room-temperature electronics and a test of the mirror actuators that will be used to align the mirror segments during commissioning. The tests went very well, and the next time we move the mirrors, …

Congratulations to Arianespace on last weekend's launch of two communications satellites into geostationary transfer orbit aboard an Ariane 5. The launch pad is now cleared to receive Webb, which has arrived at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou and has begun preparations for its December launch. To hear more about the journey to French Guiana, and the …

This is it! It is less than two months until the Webb telescope finally launches, and we couldn't be more excited. Webb is NASA's next flagship observatory and a technological marvel, more than twenty years in the making. It has just arrived in Kourou, French Guiana – home to Europe's Spaceport facility and our upcoming …