NASA has delayed the launch of its highly anticipated replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
The James Webb Space Telescope is no stranger to delays, as the initial launch was planned for around 2007. Now that the construction for the new space telescope is almost complete, NASA and the main contractor on the project, Northrop Gunman, are performing extensive testing on it before it's packed up and shipped to the spaceport in French Guyana.
There are many factors that could cause the launch of the JWST to be delayed further. One factor being the Ariane 5 rocket that will take the space telescope off-planet has been grounded since last August due to a problem with the rocket's payload firing. Arianespace has since said that this problem has been resolved with a redesign and that tests for the new rocket are penciled in for July and August.
If tests don't go as planned, this could cause further delays for the launch of the JWST. The most recent delay has pushed the scheduled launch to November or December. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly from here on out.
