Keith’s note: I just spoke with Al Jazeera Arabic about the recently released image of the Ring Nebula taken by the Webb Space Telescope. [Audio]

– Webb Reveals Cosmic Cliffs, Glittering Landscape of Star Birth – Webb Sheds Light on Galaxy Evolution, Black Holes – Webb Reveals Steamy Atmosphere of Distant Planet in Detail – Webb Captures Dying Star’s Final ‘Performance’ in Fine Detail The First James Webb Space Telescope is Awe Inspiring “The first image of the James Webb Space Telescope did not disappoint and when you think for a minute what you’re looking […]

Some cool pics of immense @MorganStanley advertisements in New York City in December after the launch of #NASAWebb with #astronomy and #astrobiology themes. #JWST #NASA pic.twitter.com/npbgCJ2V67 — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) January 13, 2022

Keith’s note: I just watched “The Hunt For Planet B“, a documentary on the James Webb Space Telescope which aired on CNN. I must say that this is a splendid film. It managed to capture the scope and breadth of what JWST is going to do and the scientific and political complexities that have dogged its development. Most importantly, however, this fim is about the people who have labored to […]

Shadowed By Controversy, NASA Won’t Rename New Space Telescope, NPR “We have found no evidence at this time that warrants changing the name of the James Webb Space Telescope,” says NASA administrator Bill Nelson.” NASA won’t rename James Webb Space Telescope despite controversy, The Hill “… more than a thousand people signed a petition earlier this year calling for the telescope to be renamed due to Webb allegedly being complicit […]

James Webb Space Telescope: Project Nearing Completion, but Work to Resolve Challenges Continues “Since 2019, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project, one of the agency’s most complex science missions, has made considerable progress toward launch–now planned for October 2021–by resolving technical issues, but some schedule and cost challenges remain. For example, in March 2021, NASA officials reported that launch vehicle anomalies that the […]

James Webb Space Telescope Completes Environmental Testing “With the completion of its latest series of milestone tests, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has now survived all of the harsh conditions associated with a rocket launch to space. Webb’s recent tests have validated that the fully assembled observatory will endure the deafening noise, and the jarring shakes, rattles and vibrations that the observatory will experience during liftoff. Known as “acoustic” and […]

Keith’s note: At a ASEB virtual meeting today SMD AA Thomas Zurbuchen announced that Webb will not be launch in March 2021 saying “That is not in the cards right now.” Delays due to COVID-19 resulted in single shifts of work instead of the planned double shifts. No new launch date has been offered but Zurbuchen was optimistic that a launch in 2021 is still possible.

James Webb Space Telescope: Technical Challenges Have Caused Schedule Strain and May Increase Costs, GAO “The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project has made significant progress since GAO’s last report in March 2019, such as completing testing of the observatory’s individual elements and integrating them together in August 2019. However, new technical challenges have required the project to use more schedule reserve extra time […]

GAO Report to Congress: NASA Assessments of Major Projects “The cost and schedule performance of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) portfolio of major projects continues to deteriorate. For this review, cost growth was 27.6 percent over the baselines and the average launch delay was approximately 13 months, the largest schedule delay since GAO began annual reporting on NASA’s major projects in 2009. This deterioration in cost and schedule […]