NASA Delays Launch of Newest Space Telescope
2020-07-21
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1NASA says it has postponed the launch of its newest space telescope because of the coronavirus crisis and technical issues.
2The U.S. space agency says the launch of its James Webb Space Telescope is now planned for October 31, 2021.
3The launch has been delayed many times.
4Before the recent postponement, it had been set for March 2021.
5The Webb is supposed to replace NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, which has been in operation for 30 years.
6NASA has identified the new telescope as a top science priority.
7The large infrared telescope has a nearly seven-meter mirror for exploring space.
8It is designed to look deeper into space and offer more answers about the past than any other spacecraft.
9The James Webb Space Telescope was first set to fly more than 10 years ago, but has faced major development delays.
10Its last planned liftoff was canceled in 2018.
11NASA officials said things seemed to be progressing well for the March launch date until the coronavirus hit.
12NASA said restrictions related to the health crisis had slowed work on the telescope by its main maker, America's Northrop Grumman.
13"Mission success is critical, but team safety is our highest priority," NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk told The Associated Press.
14Thomas Zurbuchen is with NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
15He said, "Webb is the world's most complex space observatory, and our top science priority, and we've worked hard to keep progress moving during the pandemic."
16NASA noted that costs related to the latest postponement would not be greater than the $8.8 billion spending limit for development on the project set by Congress.
17Officials say several important tests will be carried out on the telescope in the coming months.
18The project team will also seek to reopen and refold Webb's massive sun shield one last time.
19The shield is needed to keep the infrared telescope cold in space.
20NASA plans to transport the telescope next summer to its launch site in French Guiana on the northeast coast of South America.
21The Guiana Space Centre is a French and European Space Agency launch site.
22After the launch, Webb will travel 1.5 million kilometers from Earth to orbit the sun.
23It will unfold the sun shield and deploy its mirror, which is designed to look for signs of light from far-away stars and galaxies.
24Eric Smith is a NASA program scientist with the Webb program.
25He said the telescope will seek to observe "light from the first generation of galaxies that formed in the early universe after the Big Bang."
26Webb is also designed to study the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets for possible signs of life.
27NASA says it plans to keep the Hubble and Webb telescopes operating together for a time.
28Smith noted that while Webb will be exploring new things, it will also be looking at many of the same things that Hubble did.
29"For me, it will be seeing old friends with completely new eyes," Smith said.
30I'm Bryan Lynn.
1NASA says it has postponed the launch of its newest space telescope because of the coronavirus crisis and technical issues. 2The U.S. space agency says the launch of its James Webb Space Telescope is now planned for October 31, 2021. The launch has been delayed many times. Before the recent postponement, it had been set for March 2021. 3The Webb is supposed to replace NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, which has been in operation for 30 years. 4NASA has identified the new telescope as a top science priority. The large infrared telescope has a nearly seven-meter mirror for exploring space. It is designed to look deeper into space and offer more answers about the past than any other spacecraft. 5The James Webb Space Telescope was first set to fly more than 10 years ago, but has faced major development delays. Its last planned liftoff was canceled in 2018. 6NASA officials said things seemed to be progressing well for the March launch date until the coronavirus hit. NASA said restrictions related to the health crisis had slowed work on the telescope by its main maker, America's Northrop Grumman. 7"Mission success is critical, but team safety is our highest priority," NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk told The Associated Press. 8Thomas Zurbuchen is with NASA's Science Mission Directorate. He said, "Webb is the world's most complex space observatory, and our top science priority, and we've worked hard to keep progress moving during the pandemic." 9NASA noted that costs related to the latest postponement would not be greater than the $8.8 billion spending limit for development on the project set by Congress. 10Officials say several important tests will be carried out on the telescope in the coming months. The project team will also seek to reopen and refold Webb's massive sun shield one last time. The shield is needed to keep the infrared telescope cold in space. 11NASA plans to transport the telescope next summer to its launch site in French Guiana on the northeast coast of South America. The Guiana Space Centre is a French and European Space Agency launch site. 12After the launch, Webb will travel 1.5 million kilometers from Earth to orbit the sun. It will unfold the sun shield and deploy its mirror, which is designed to look for signs of light from far-away stars and galaxies. 13Eric Smith is a NASA program scientist with the Webb program. He said the telescope will seek to observe "light from the first generation of galaxies that formed in the early universe after the Big Bang." Webb is also designed to study the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets for possible signs of life. 14NASA says it plans to keep the Hubble and Webb telescopes operating together for a time. 15Smith noted that while Webb will be exploring new things, it will also be looking at many of the same things that Hubble did. "For me, it will be seeing old friends with completely new eyes," Smith said. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21priority - n. something that is more important than other things and that needs to be done first 22infrared - n. technical: producing or using rays of light that cannot be seen and that are longer than rays that produce red light 23mirror - n. a piece of glass with metallic material on one side that produces an image of anything in front of it 24pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people 25shield - n. an object used to protect something 26refold - v. a process in which the sides of something are folded on top of each other to make it smaller 27site - n. place where something happens 28galaxy - n. a large group of stars from the same universe 29Big Bang - n. the large explosion that many scientists believed created the universe 30exoplanet - n. planets that orbit a star outside the solar system