Here was my Thanksgiving script: Family: “Where will you be for launch?” Me: “Baltimore!” Friends: “Its launching from Baltimore?” Me: “No, were launching from French Guiana. Objective Control remains in Baltimore.”
So much must go right the first day. JWST must release its solar range to get power. No solar selection, no mission.
LAUNCH. I can hear some squealing from the VIPs downstairs, however its quiet here. Were waiting to take control of JWST when it separates from the rocket about 30 minutes after launch.
The 2nd phase shuts down and the launch car separates. The call comes out that the attitude control system is working. The solar variety needs to be releasing instantly … Theres a tense wait … and then the call “Sun is on the selection, current is on the array!” Unexpectedly its DEAFENINGLY loud on the voice loops, with clapping and shouts of happiness echoing through the MOC. I admire see the video feed from the launch lorry and THERE IT IS, our gorgeous observatory with its solar panel all the method out, shining in the sun.
We acquire our first ground station, Malindi in Kenya, and the MOC sends our first command to JWST, accompanied by shouts and cheering. The response wheels are powered up and take over. The call comes over the voice loop: “JWST is flying on its own.”
I glimpse down at the pictures I brought for luck: my spouse and my kid in front of JWST under building; and my hero Frank Kameny in his youth, peering through a telescope. Numerous brains dreamed up science observations. Numerous worked so tough– now we see if it works.
— Jane Rigby, operations job scientist for Webb at NASAs Goddard Space Flight
Its 7:00 am, and Im at the Mission Operations Center, “the MOC”– mission control to routine folks, for the launch of JWST.” Friends: “Its launching from Baltimore? Were waiting to take control of JWST when it separates from the rocket about 30 minutes after launch.
The 2nd stage shuts down and the launch vehicle separates. I look up to see the video feed from the launch automobile and THERE IT IS, our gorgeous observatory with its solar panel all the method out, shining in the sun.
Jane Rigby, the operations task researcher for Webb at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is seen being in the Mission Operations Center at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore throughout the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA
The James Webb Space Telescope is on its method! The objective introduced on an Ariane 5 rocket at 7:20 a.m. EST on Saturday, December 25.
Jane Rigby, the operations job scientist for Webb at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, informed us what it was like to be supporting the launch from the Mission Operations Center at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore:
Launch day. Its 7:00 am, and Im at the Mission Operations Center, “the MOC”– objective control to regular folks, for the launch of JWST. Im wearing a mission patch polo and a headset. We release in twenty minutes. The state of mind here is nervous, ecstatic, and ready. I hear laughter in the hallways and see grim eyes over KN95 masks. We know that the future of NASA science is at stake. We understand how audaciously hard the job will be. We know the number of times we practiced. Now we do it genuine.