Free Republic

The $10 billion Webb — considered the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope — was supposed to soar Saturday, but was jolted by a clamp during launch preparations, resulting in a four-day delay. Then a bad communication link on the rocket had to be fixed, postponing the launch another two days. U.S. and European space officials signed off Friday on the launch date, following one last round of testing. Nelson expects a smaller crowd at the launch site because of the holidays. Liftoff is scheduled for 7:20 a.m. EST.

The launch readiness date for the James Webb Space Telescope is moving to no earlier than December 22 to allow for additional testing of the observatory, following a recent incident that occurred during Webb’s launch preparations. The incident occurred during operations at the satellite preparation facility in Kourou, French Guiana, performed under Arianespace overall responsibility. Technicians were preparing to attach Webb to the launch vehicle adapter, which is used to integrate the observatory with the upper stage of the Ariane 5 rocket. A sudden, unplanned release of a clamp band – which secures Webb to the launch vehicle adapter –...

GOTTA SEE THIS -- SATELLITE IMAGING DURING OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM 7/10/02 BREAKING NEWS - The Big Picture: Fires and Rockets of July around the World and Universe ===== ROCKETS OF JULY 2002 ====== In Nizhny Tagil, 800 miles east of Moscow, a Russian-made Smerch 300 mm Multiple Launch Rocket System fires a rocket during an exhibition 7/9/02. Russia's weapons export agency Rosoboron unfortunately continues to offer this and other war technology to Iran. Better get your act together, Ivan. Kourou space base, French Guyana - European rocket Ariane 5 lifts off 7/6/02 with the European communication satellite Stellat-5 and the...