Sierra’s Space Update - January 2022 - Newsletter
Sierra’s Space Update - January 2022 - Newsletter
January 2022
Headlines
-
James Webb Space
Telescope launches
successfully -
Starlink Satellite
megaconstellation
continues to grow,
approaching 2000
satellites in orbit. -
Space Launch System
uncrewed maiden launch scheduled for 2022. -
Boom Overture 55-
passenger, Mach 1.7
supersonic airliner to
debut in 2029.
James Webb Space Telescope
Credit NASA
The James Webb Space Telescope was successfully launched on December 25. It is designed to provide improved infrared resolution and sensitivity over Hubble, and will enable a broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology, including observations of some of the most distant events and objects in the Universe such as the formation of the first galaxies, and allowing detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets.
The JWST is a space telescope developed by NASA with contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 and played an integral role in the Apollo program. It is intended to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA’s flagship mission in astrophysics. JWST’s primary mirror, the Optical Telescope Element, consists of 18 hexagonal, individually adjustable mirror segments made of gold-plated beryllium, which combine to create a 6.5 meter (21 ft 4 inch) diameter mirror – considerably larger than Hubble’s 2.4 m (7.9 ft) mirror. Unlike Hubble, which observes in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared (0.1–1.0 μm) spectra, JWST will observe in a lower frequency range, from long-wavelength visible light (red) through mid-infrared (0.6–28.3 μm). This will enable it to observe high-redshift objects that are too old and too distant for Hubble. The telescope must be kept very cold to observe in the infrared without interference, so it will be deployed in space near the
Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 mi) from Earth (0.01 au – 3.9 times the average distance to the Moon). A large sunshield made of silicon- and aluminum-coated Kapton will keep its mirror and instruments below 50 K (−223 °C; −370 °F). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland managed the development and the Space Telescope Science Institute is operating JWST. The prime contractor was Northrop Grumman. Construction was completed in late 2016, when an extensive testing phase began. JWST was launched on December 25, 2021 by an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana and was released from the upper stage 27 minutes later. The telescope was confirmed to be receiving power, and as of December 2021 is traveling to its target destination. It is unfurling its sunshade and primary mirror on its way to the L2 Lagrange point, where it will enter a stable HALO (aka Lissajous) orbit.
Launch of JWST
Description of JWST unfolding
Where is JWST Now:
SpaceX’s Starlink Satellite Megaconstellation
On December 18 SpaceX launched 52 Starlink satellites into a midinclination orbit. Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX providing satellite Internet access to most of the Earth. The constellation has grown to 1764 working satellites through 2021, and will eventually consist of many thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit, which communicate with designated ground transceivers. While the technical possibility of satellite internet service covers most of the global population, actual service can be delivered only in countries that have licensed SpaceX to provide service within any specific national jurisdiction. As of November 2021, the beta service offering is available in 21 countries
Starlink satellites crammed into a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
Credit SpaceX
January 2022
Headlines
-
James Webb Space
Telescope launches
successfully -
Starlink Satellite
megaconstellation
continues to grow,
approaching 2000
satellites in orbit. -
Space Launch System
uncrewed maiden launch scheduled for 2022. -
Boom Overture 55-
passenger, Mach 1.7
supersonic airliner to
debut in 2029.
James Webb Space Telescope
Credit NASA
The James Webb Space Telescope was successfully launched on December 25. It is designed to provide improved infrared resolution and sensitivity over Hubble, and will enable a broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology, including observations of some of the most distant events and objects in the Universe such as the formation of the first galaxies, and allowing detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets.
The JWST is a space telescope developed by NASA with contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 and played an integral role in the Apollo program. It is intended to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA’s flagship mission in astrophysics. JWST’s primary mirror, the Optical Telescope Element, consists of 18 hexagonal, individually adjustable mirror segments made of gold-plated beryllium, which combine to create a 6.5 meter (21 ft 4 inch) diameter mirror – considerably larger than Hubble’s 2.4 m (7.9 ft) mirror. Unlike Hubble, which observes in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared (0.1–1.0 μm) spectra, JWST will observe in a lower frequency range, from long-wavelength visible light (red) through mid-infrared (0.6–28.3 μm). This will enable it to observe high-redshift objects that are too old and too distant for Hubble. The telescope must be kept very cold to observe in the infrared without interference, so it will be deployed in space near the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 mi) from Earth (0.01 au – 3.9 times the average distance to the Moon). A large sunshield made of silicon- and aluminum-coated Kapton will keep its mirror and instruments below 50 K (−223 °C; −370 °F). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland managed the development and the Space Telescope Science Institute is operating JWST. The prime contractor was Northrop Grumman. Construction was completed in late 2016, when an extensive testing phase began. JWST was launched on December 25, 2021 by an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana and was released from the upper stage 27 minutes later. The telescope was confirmed to be receiving power, and as of December 2021 is traveling to its target destination. It is unfurling its sunshade and primary mirror on its way to the L2 Lagrange point, where it will enter a stable HALO (aka Lissajous) orbit.
Launch of JWST
Description of JWST unfolding
Where is JWST Now:
The JWST is a space telescope developed by NASA with contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 and played an integral role in the Apollo program. It is intended to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA’s flagship mission in astrophysics. JWST’s primary mirror, the Optical Telescope Element, consists of 18 hexagonal, individually adjustable mirror segments made of gold-plated beryllium, which combine to create a 6.5 meter (21 ft 4 inch) diameter mirror – considerably larger than Hubble’s 2.4 m (7.9 ft) mirror. Unlike Hubble, which observes in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared (0.1–1.0 μm) spectra, JWST will observe in a lower frequency range, from long-wavelength visible light (red) through mid-infrared (0.6–28.3 μm). This will enable it to observe high-redshift objects that are too old and too distant for Hubble. The telescope must be kept very cold to observe in the infrared without interference, so it will be deployed in space near the
Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 mi) from Earth (0.01 au – 3.9 times the average distance to the Moon). A large sunshield made of silicon- and aluminum-coated Kapton will keep its mirror and instruments below 50 K (−223 °C; −370 °F). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland managed the development and the Space Telescope Science Institute is operating JWST. The prime contractor was Northrop Grumman. Construction was completed in late 2016, when an extensive testing phase began. JWST was launched on December 25, 2021 by an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana and was released from the upper stage 27 minutes later. The telescope was confirmed to be receiving power, and as of December 2021 is traveling to its target destination. It is unfurling its sunshade and primary mirror on its way to the L2 Lagrange point, where it will enter a stable HALO (aka Lissajous) orbit.
Launch of JWST
Description of JWST unfolding
Where is JWST Now:
SpaceX’s Starlink Satellite Megaconstellation
On December 18 SpaceX launched 52 Starlink satellites into a midinclination orbit. Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX providing satellite Internet access to most of the Earth. The constellation has grown to 1764 working satellites through 2021, and will eventually consist of many thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit, which communicate with designated ground transceivers. While the technical possibility of satellite internet service covers most of the global population, actual service can be delivered only in countries that have licensed SpaceX to provide service within any specific national jurisdiction. As of November 2021, the beta service offering is available in 21 countries
Starlink satellites crammed into a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
Credit SpaceX
Credit: SpaceX
Starlink satellite
unfolding its solar
panels
Credit SpaceX
Starlink satellites
in orbit. The
separation
distance is not to
scale—to avoid
collisions, the
distance will be
much greater than
shown.
NASA’s Space Launch System
Boom Overture Supersonic Airliner
Boom Technology, Inc. is designing a Mach 1.7 (2,000 km/h, 1,260 mph), 55-passenger supersonic airliner. Named the Boom Overture, the airliner is planned to have a range of 4,500 nmi (8,300 km) and to be introduced in 2029.
Credit NASA
Credit Boom Technology, Inc.
2
Sierra’s Space Update - January 2022 - Newsletter
Credit: SpaceX
Starlink satellite unfolding its solar panels
Credit SpaceX
Starlink satellites in orbit. The separationdistance is not to scale—to avoid collisions, the distance will be much greater than shown.
NASA’s Space Launch System
Boom Overture Supersonic Airliner
Boom Technology, Inc. is designing a Mach 1.7 (2,000 km/h, 1,260 mph), 55-passenger supersonic airliner. Named the Boom Overture, the airliner is planned to have a range of 4,500 nmi (8,300 km) and to be introduced in 2029.
Credit NASA