Science

milestogo

(17,865 posts) Wed Jul 20, 2022, 08:56 AM Jul 2022

Meteoroid hit has caused 'significant uncorrectable' damage to James Webb Space Telescope

NASA has reported that a meteoroid hit on the James Webb Space Telescope has caused "significant uncorrectable" damage to one of the panels it uses to stare into deep space. The orbiting observatory was launched last December and recently released a full set of new observations, including what is said to be the "deepest" and most detailed picture of the cosmos to date.

Like any spacecraft, it has encountered micrometeoroids and its sensors have detected six deformations on the telescope's primary mirror panels that have been attributed to strikes. "Each micrometeoroid caused degradation in the wavefront of the impacted mirror segment, as measured during regular wavefront sensing," said NASA.

Some of these degradations are correctable by adjusting the maths that NASA applies to the data that each panel collects, according to a commissioning paper published last week. However one strike - which occurred between 22 and 24 May - was caused by a larger micrometeoroid and resulted in "significant uncorrectable change" to segment C3 according to the document.

Fortunately, this change is not especially impactful on how the telescope as a whole functions - and NASA has said that its performance is continuing to exceed expectations - but it fundamentally reduces the accuracy of the data collected.

https://news.sky.com/story/meteoroid-hit-has-caused-significant-uncorrectable-damage-to-james-webb-space-telescope-12655489

22 replies

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Meteoroid hit has caused 'significant uncorrectable' damage to James Webb Space Telescope (Original Post) milestogo Jul 2022 OP

30 yrs to build. 10 billion dollars. NoSheep Jul 2022 #1

The impact just proves the environment as it were out there is harsh. Can you do better? n/t xocetaceans Jul 2022 #7

I wouldn't have spent the money on it in the first place. I think that would be better. n/t NoSheep Aug 2022 #20

What would you have spent the money on? n/t xocetaceans Aug 2022 #21

Why exactly are you clapping? nt Javaman Jul 2022 #17

$333 million per year is a drop in the bucket for a government budget NickB79 Aug 2022 #22

Darn. It still had that "new space telescope" smell. NT mahatmakanejeeves Jul 2022 #2

+1 2naSalit Jul 2022 #13

Bummer. I wonder if it was actually space debris. NNadir Jul 2022 #3

I assume you mean man-made debris? Probably not. cos dem Jul 2022 #4

If you mean man made stuff, I kind of doubt it rurallib Jul 2022 #6

We just think that it was a meteoroid.... Chainfire Jul 2022 #5

Harder than you might think to accomplish FBaggins Jul 2022 #8

I was joking about extraterrestrials throwing rocks at our surveillance cameras. ;) Chainfire Jul 2022 #10

I would not throw out the chance it could be extraterrestrials just like one of us cstanleytech Jul 2022 #15

Perhaps the poster was referring to space aliens sdfernando Jul 2022 #12

I always thought LaGrange points would tend to collect stray bits of interplanetary stuff. mn9driver Jul 2022 #9

That's true for L4/L5 FBaggins Jul 2022 #11

Most of the stuff that hangs out there will tend to be low-velocity stuff.... lastlib Jul 2022 #14

Wait, there's no force field? BWdem4life Jul 2022 #16

The system was built to deal with this. Layzeebeaver Jul 2022 #18

Is it still under warranty? LastLiberal in PalmSprings Jul 2022 #19

NoSheep

(8,274 posts)

1. 30 yrs to build. 10 billion dollars.

Reply to milestogo (Original post)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 08:59 AM

Jul 2022

xocetaceans

(3,944 posts)

7. The impact just proves the environment as it were out there is harsh. Can you do better? n/t

Reply to NoSheep (Reply #1)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 09:34 AM

Jul 2022

NoSheep

(8,274 posts)

20. I wouldn't have spent the money on it in the first place. I think that would be better. n/t

Reply to xocetaceans (Reply #7)

Mon Aug 8, 2022, 08:34 AM

Aug 2022

xocetaceans

(3,944 posts)

21. What would you have spent the money on? n/t

Reply to NoSheep (Reply #20)

Mon Aug 8, 2022, 11:51 AM

Aug 2022

Javaman

(63,109 posts)

17. Why exactly are you clapping? nt

Reply to NoSheep (Reply #1)

Thu Jul 21, 2022, 08:23 AM

Jul 2022

NickB79

(19,625 posts)

22. $333 million per year is a drop in the bucket for a government budget

Reply to NoSheep (Reply #1)

Mon Aug 8, 2022, 10:35 PM

Aug 2022

It's easily worth the price for the scientific data it's sending back.

mahatmakanejeeves

(60,987 posts)

2. Darn. It still had that "new space telescope" smell. NT

Reply to milestogo (Original post)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 08:59 AM

Jul 2022

2naSalit

(92,752 posts)

13. +1

Reply to mahatmakanejeeves (Reply #2)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 11:40 AM

Jul 2022

NNadir

(34,675 posts)

3. Bummer. I wonder if it was actually space debris.

Reply to milestogo (Original post)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 09:00 AM

Jul 2022

cos dem

(913 posts)

4. I assume you mean man-made debris? Probably not.

Reply to NNadir (Reply #3)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 09:06 AM

Jul 2022

The orbit it is in is way out there. It's not really in Earth orbit, it's a Lagrange point, if you're familiar with that (L2 if you really care). Most debris we're dealing with is in low Earth orbit, which is only about 100 miles up. L2 is about 1.5 million km away from earth.

rurallib

(63,204 posts)

6. If you mean man made stuff, I kind of doubt it

Reply to NNadir (Reply #3)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 09:11 AM

Jul 2022

Since it is a million miles out, man hasn't sent a lot of stuff out that far. That they have sent that far has usually gone far beyond that.

As far as just 'space debris' I would imagine there is a huge amount of particles just hurtling willy-nilly throughout the universe from various destruction of stars, planets and meteors etc.

Pretty perilous out there.

Chainfire

(17,757 posts)

5. We just think that it was a meteoroid....

Reply to milestogo (Original post)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 09:06 AM

Jul 2022

Maybe somebody doesn't want us peeking at something.

FBaggins

(27,720 posts)

8. Harder than you might think to accomplish

Reply to Chainfire (Reply #5)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 09:37 AM

Jul 2022

Lots of countries now have the ability to get something into orbit.

But getting something that far out that can actually sense/target Webb? Not nearly so easy. It's thousands of times as far away.

Chainfire

(17,757 posts)

10. I was joking about extraterrestrials throwing rocks at our surveillance cameras. ;)

Reply to FBaggins (Reply #8)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 09:56 AM

Jul 2022

I figure if someone had figured out how to travel among the stars, that they would have had the ability to throw space rubble with some degree of accuracy.

I am very sorry to see the telescope partially disabled. Apparently the volume of information that it was gathering about the history of the Universe was astounding. (not to mention the pretty pictures)

cstanleytech

(27,024 posts)

15. I would not throw out the chance it could be extraterrestrials just like one of us

Reply to Chainfire (Reply #10)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 07:54 PM

Jul 2022

could in theory win a 1 billion megamillion dollar lottery drawing on a Tuesday and then the next night win a billion dollar powerball drawing as well.

sdfernando

(5,382 posts)

12. Perhaps the poster was referring to space aliens

Reply to FBaggins (Reply #8)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 10:18 AM

Jul 2022

as opposed to humans?

mn9driver

(4,576 posts)

9. I always thought LaGrange points would tend to collect stray bits of interplanetary stuff.

Reply to milestogo (Original post)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 09:42 AM

Jul 2022

It seems that is being demonstrated here. I hope Webb lasts long enough to get our money’s worth of data out of it.

FBaggins

(27,720 posts)

11. That's true for L4/L5

Reply to mn9driver (Reply #9)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 10:16 AM

Jul 2022

Not so much for the other three. But even were that so, the relative velocity for objects being "collected" would be comparatively low (i.e., less damaging).

lastlib

(24,920 posts)

14. Most of the stuff that hangs out there will tend to be low-velocity stuff....

Reply to mn9driver (Reply #9)

Wed Jul 20, 2022, 06:36 PM

Jul 2022

Things with higher velocity would most likely just scoot on through. While that's the stuff that would do most damage to JWST, it's also the stuff with the lowest probability of hitting it.