That can seem like a big deal at first, but it's pretty normal since these things are at the cutting edge of technology. Theories or highly simplified versions

That can seem like a big deal at first, but it's pretty normal since these things are at the cutting edge of technology. Theories or highly simplified versions of experimental techniques are often proposed decades before the technology finally catches up to the level where those theories can be properly tested, or where those experimental techniques can be performed at a useful level. For example, a lot of the technology needed to make the JWST did not exist when work on it started, it was developed specifically for JWST, or happened to be developed as they were working on it. Same goes for a lot of the capabilities of particle accelerators.