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NASA deliberately crashed a spacecraft into a space rock today in an attempt to change the rock's orbit. It may take a few weeks for scientists to assess the change. This was done as a test to determine whether we could potentially deflect a large asteroid and prevent it from striking Earth. For those of us who don't want to experience the fate of the dinosaurs, this is a welcome development!
In 25 years NASA’s ability to alter the course of asteroids will be fairly routine. In 75 years terrorist organizations / doomsday cults may possess the same capability. Than - Look out!
“Despite the issue on the component, JWST’s imaging, low-resolution spectroscopy and coronagraphy are not affected and are still continuing. Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA, said during the International Astronautical Congress on Wednesday that the decision to review the issue is done to ensure that the component works well. Eric Smith, a JWST program scientist at NASA, shared in a press conference following the event that engineers do not expect the issue to cause any long-term problems, but they want to understand what is causing friction within the component. Smith also mentioned that the telescope is experiencing micrometeoroid hits on its mirror as expected, but one of the impacts was larger than expected. The scientist stated that JWST is expected to get hit with one large micrometeoroid per year.”
The affected camera is, I believe, designed to operate in four different modes. The problem seems to be in the mechanism that controls switching between those modes. In a worst-case situation they could likely place the camera in the mode deemed most useful and just leave it there. Not great, but at least something.
Comments
I guess NASA did a better job crashing DART on an asteroid than it did building a flawless James Webb.
Recent news blurb:
“Despite the issue on the component, JWST’s imaging, low-resolution spectroscopy and coronagraphy are not affected and are still continuing. Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA, said during the International Astronautical Congress on Wednesday that the decision to review the issue is done to ensure that the component works well. Eric Smith, a JWST program scientist at NASA, shared in a press conference following the event that engineers do not expect the issue to cause any long-term problems, but they want to understand what is causing friction within the component. Smith also mentioned that the telescope is experiencing micrometeoroid hits on its mirror as expected, but one of the impacts was larger than expected. The scientist stated that JWST is expected to get hit with one large micrometeoroid per year.”
https://potomacofficersclub.com/news/nasa-reviewing-friction-issue-on-jwst-observing-module/