Webb Space Telescope launch set for Dec. 22 after short delay - FierceElectronics

The telescope observatory has been under  development for 18 years and represents an enormous set of research  opportunities as long as it gets launched and moved into position in the coming  year.

The clamp band release caused a vibration throughout the telescope observatory, leading to an investigation and a launch delay to no earlier than Dec.

The Webb Space Telescope has been in development since 2003 and is an international partnership with the European and Canadian space agencies.

As NASA puts it, Webb will “help humanity understand the origins of the universe and our place in it.”  Webb is the largest, most powerful and complex space telescope ever built to be launched in space.

Yao-Lun Yang, an astronomy post doctoral  fellow at the University of Virginia, Webb represents the opportunity for deep research into fundamentals such as the “chemical heritage” of Earth and other celestial bodies.  Webb will help scientists better understand something as complex as how a star is made, he said in a Nov.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has released a media reel of animations showing the launch and deployment of the telescope as it unfolds in space.