The Moon might be James Webb Space Telescope's next biggest launch obstacle: NASA

The wait to see the James Webb Space Telescope blaze out into space has been extended further as NASA announced on Wednesday, December 15, that its launch has been delayed to December 24. According to NASA, it was forced to postpone the liftoff from December 22 after the telescope suffered a communication snag with its launch vehicle, the Ariane 5 rocket. Webb is currently sitting atop the rocket at its launch site on French Guiana while the scientists have their fingers crossed for the coming days. 

Webb's days ahead might get rough

According to Karen Richon, a flight-dynamics engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the Webb telescope might have the moon as its next biggest obstacle. In an interview with The Atlantic, she explained that if any technical failure pushes the launch beyond December, the Earth's satellite might thwart the mission with its gravitational influence. Scientists have already decided a certain trajectory to install the telescope into its orbit and if the Moon comes between that path, its gravity can nudge the former into a completely different route. “It either pulls us back because it wants to try to capture us into orbit, or it gives some acceleration,” Richon told The Atlantic.

However, in Webb's case, neither a pull will be an advantage nor a push. Rather, this lunar influence can completely jeopardise the mission. If the Moon's tugs Webb towards it, the telescope will have to expend its fuel to stay in its path, which would significantly reduce its operational lifespan, while on the other hand, a push would knock it off its original trajectory and leave it being no more than a multi-billion dollar space junk. According to Richon, if the telescope fails to launch by December end, the launch window will be closed sometime between January 9 and 13. In addition to the Moon, scientists will also have to take into consideration the gravitational influence of the planets in order to save the telescope which took 30 years to be fully developed.

Scientists hopeful for a December 24 launch

For those catching up, the James Webb Space Telescope is being delayed for nearly a decade. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) planned to launch the telescope back in 2011. As mentioned earlier, the telescope is currently in French Guiana, where it arrived back in October from California. Once the James Webb Space Telescope takes off, it will be placed nearly 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth.

Image: Twitter/@ESA