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I’m much more concerned about what will happen once the telescope is in operation. We can’t send astronauts to L2 to fix it like we could send them to Hubble o

by efitz 5y ago

I’m much more concerned about what will happen once the telescope is in operation. We can’t send astronauts to L2 to fix it like we could send them to Hubble on STS.

pfdietz 5y ago
We can't yet, but doing so isn't entirely out of the question. It's easier than sending anyone to Mars. The one-way trip time for astronauts to L2 might be 25 days. https://www.wired.com/2012/04/100-day-mission-to-sun-earth-l2-1999/ https://www.wired.com/2012/04/100-day-mission-to-sun-earth-l...
- api 5y ago
  JWST apparently does have some kind of docking attachment so we can service it if we get the capability between now and EOL. Servicing once could likely double its useful life. Starship and Orion could do it AFAIK. Maybe Dragon with a service module.
  - mlindner 5y ago
    The docking attachment was originally planned but there's been no mention of it in the last 10 years or so and no pictures of such an attachment point. They probably de-scoped it.
  - redisman 5y ago
    I’m guessing they can’t service it by adding more fuel? That would’ve been a neat expansion to be able to expand its life
    - dredmorbius 5y ago
      The possibility has been engineered, though the mission profile does not rely on this. JWST does have a docking ring: https://www.space.com/3833-nasa-adds-docking-capability-space-observatory.html https://www.space.com/3833-nasa-adds-docking-capability-spac... Deets on station-keeping http://www.ai-solutions.com/Portals/0/AI%20Docs/Technical%20Paper%20Library%20pdf/2014/ISSFD24_Petersen_et_al_JWST_MCC_Monte_Carlo.pdf http://www.ai-solutions.com/Portals/0/AI%20Docs/Technical%20... (PDF) NASA's official FAQ deems servicing does "not offset the increases in mission complexity, mass and cost that would be required to make Webb serviceable, or to conduct the servicing mission itself." https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/about/faqs/faq.html#serviceable https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/about/faqs/faq.html#serviceabl...

by efitz 5y ago

I’m much more concerned about what will happen once the telescope is in operation. We can’t send astronauts to L2 to fix it like we could send them to Hubble on STS.

pfdietz 5y ago

We can't yet, but doing so isn't entirely out of the question. It's easier than sending anyone to Mars. The one-way trip time for astronauts to L2 might be 25 days. https://www.wired.com/2012/04/100-day-mission-to-sun-earth-l2-1999/ https://www.wired.com/2012/04/100-day-mission-to-sun-earth-l...

api 5y ago
JWST apparently does have some kind of docking attachment so we can service it if we get the capability between now and EOL. Servicing once could likely double its useful life. Starship and Orion could do it AFAIK. Maybe Dragon with a service module.
- mlindner 5y ago
  The docking attachment was originally planned but there's been no mention of it in the last 10 years or so and no pictures of such an attachment point. They probably de-scoped it.
- redisman 5y ago
  I’m guessing they can’t service it by adding more fuel? That would’ve been a neat expansion to be able to expand its life
  - dredmorbius 5y ago
    The possibility has been engineered, though the mission profile does not rely on this. JWST does have a docking ring: https://www.space.com/3833-nasa-adds-docking-capability-space-observatory.html https://www.space.com/3833-nasa-adds-docking-capability-spac... Deets on station-keeping http://www.ai-solutions.com/Portals/0/AI%20Docs/Technical%20Paper%20Library%20pdf/2014/ISSFD24_Petersen_et_al_JWST_MCC_Monte_Carlo.pdf http://www.ai-solutions.com/Portals/0/AI%20Docs/Technical%20... (PDF) NASA's official FAQ deems servicing does "not offset the increases in mission complexity, mass and cost that would be required to make Webb serviceable, or to conduct the servicing mission itself." https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/about/faqs/faq.html#serviceable https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/about/faqs/faq.html#serviceabl...