Also, I thought it interesting that the ESA launches in Guiana is because of its location near the equator. The rockets launched there can steal a little of the Earth’s rotational energy helping it save some fuel.
Stories like Lagrange always make me smile. The use of mathematics as a tool of discovery is about as close to hokus pokus as we can get, I think — scribbling numbers and symbols on paper to pinpoint special (perhaps even someday useful) gravitational points of interest. (Also see discovery of Neptune.) Fantastic.
I loved the video and had seen it before but made me smile this morning. Math and geometry are an amazing way to explain the world. Some of these devices go up with an onboard nuclear reactor for power but this device only has a set of fuel tanks. If the math is VERY PRECISE it is not uncommon to greatly increase the mission length. Since it is not reachable for maintenance, every ounce of fuel counts. I read a couple of articles that state the possibility to make a robotic mission to refuel it but that is sci-fi for now. I watched a video that said if the telescope were to turn toward the sun for even a brief time, the mission will be over since the instruments can only operate in cryogenic conditions. Just amazing what we can accomplish. The mid-course corrections WERE SO ACCURATE that they have extended the mission now beyond 10 years. The original hope was 5-10 years. The telescope assembly is the size of a tennis court and has to make 63 gallons of fuel last for everything. Simply amazing to me.
First, you have had to have seen this
https://youtu.be/KaOC9danxNo
Also, I thought it interesting that the ESA launches in Guiana is because of its location near the equator. The rockets launched there can steal a little of the Earth’s rotational energy helping it save some fuel.
Stories like Lagrange always make me smile. The use of mathematics as a tool of discovery is about as close to hokus pokus as we can get, I think — scribbling numbers and symbols on paper to pinpoint special (perhaps even someday useful) gravitational points of interest. (Also see discovery of Neptune.) Fantastic.
#GoWebb
I loved the video and had seen it before but made me smile this morning. Math and geometry are an amazing way to explain the world. Some of these devices go up with an onboard nuclear reactor for power but this device only has a set of fuel tanks. If the math is VERY PRECISE it is not uncommon to greatly increase the mission length. Since it is not reachable for maintenance, every ounce of fuel counts. I read a couple of articles that state the possibility to make a robotic mission to refuel it but that is sci-fi for now. I watched a video that said if the telescope were to turn toward the sun for even a brief time, the mission will be over since the instruments can only operate in cryogenic conditions. Just amazing what we can accomplish. The mid-course corrections WERE SO ACCURATE that they have extended the mission now beyond 10 years. The original hope was 5-10 years. The telescope assembly is the size of a tennis court and has to make 63 gallons of fuel last for everything. Simply amazing to me.