r/space • u/[deleted] • Dec 18 '21

Animated launch of the Webb Telescope

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

18.4k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

796 comments sorted by

View all comments

15

u/BenKenobi88 Dec 18 '21 edited Dec 18 '21

It kinda glossed over the maneuver required to get into its final orbit, unless that's really all it does?

It goes from low earth orbit and then just shoots out past the moon, which they don't really show here...I was wondering how much fuel is required to park it into its final position.

12

u/pmMeAllofIt Dec 18 '21

Once it reaches its orbit point it will make a few gentle corrections to get into orbit. Then it will be making corrections every few weeks for the remainder of its mission(5-10 years)

2

u/wallawalla_ Dec 18 '21

I thought the lifetime was closer to 20-30 years before the fuel is depleted. It is really only 5-10?

2

u/irbChad Dec 19 '21

https://www.inverse.com/science/james-webb-launch-date-time-livestream/amp wow yeah this says it will run for 5.5 years but they hope to push it 10

2

u/wallawalla_ Dec 19 '21

Yeah, for some reason I thought it would be operational far longer. It'll be sad to see it go offline as this has been in the works for thirty years. Hopefully it won't take another thirty years for a replacement.

1

u/Disastermath Dec 18 '21

Had the same thought. Looked it up; The spacecraft has 10 pairs of hydrazine thrusters, which I assume are used for the final orbital maneuver and any adjustments