![]() ![]() NASA originally hoped to launch the James Webb Space Telescope in 2018 but delayed it until 2019 last September due to delays in the observatory's assembly. Those are avoidable errors, but in developing very complex systems, those things do happen." ![]() "An incorrect solvent was run through the prop system as a result, we wound up having to replace valves in that system, and a catalyst bed heater was accidentally overstressed and needed to be replaced. That resulted in a three-month hit," he added. In addition, "primarily in the propulsion system, we've had a schedule delay due to a transducer that was incorrectly powered we needed to replace that. There have also been schedule delays due to hardware mishaps: The cables that pull the sun shield into place had too much slack, leading to a snagging hazard and seven small tears forming within the shield's five independent membranes the largest two were 4 inches (10 centimeters) across, Andrucyk said. While all flight hardware is complete, they said, testing of some parts of the hardware has taken longer than expected for instance, rather than taking two weeks to deploy for the first time and a month to fold and stow, the sun shield took a month to deploy and two months to fold and stow. The government agency notes that its made "several recommendations to NASA on the management of this project in previous reports and NASA has agreed with and taken action on many of them," with the most recent being a joint cost and schedule level analysis for the project which NASA completed in October 2019.Ī new launch date for JWST is expected to be announced later this year by NASA as it works its way through the troubled project.During a news conference today, Lightfoot was joined by Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, as well as Dennis Andrucyk, deputy associate administrator for the directorate, to describe the causes of the delay and the steps they're taking to push the project forward. "The cost and schedule analysis completed by the project in October 2019 indicated that the project will not exceed the cost commitment established in the 2018 replan even if launch is delayed further by a few months," says GAO, adding that officials deem the project funding to be sufficient to continue work "even if the launch date slips 3-4 months past the March 2021 launch date."Īs for recommendations, GAO doesn't have any new ones at this time. It had also managed to achieve a number of integration and testing milestones, such as deployment of the secondary mirror assembly and observatory level testing. NASA's replanning of the project in June 2018 after "technical and workmanship issues" saw the space agency addressing "all recommendations" from an independent review board. "NASA continues to monitor multiple, other risks that could place further schedule and cost strains on the project" notes the report.įixing issues with two communication components caused the schedule reserve to decline sharply in April-May 2019 It found that the project faced new technical challenges that not only consumed a large portion of the schedule reserve but also resulted in longer employment of the contractor workforce than planned, potentially adding to project costs. The GAO annually audits NASA's progress on the JWST program and in its eighth report, the agency "assessed the extent to which (1) the JWST project is executing within the revised schedule and cost targets established in 2018, and (2) NASA implemented and sustained key improvements to performance and oversight undertaken since 2018." ![]() The project has faced several delays since inception, leading to a 95 percent increase in development costs, and now it looks like it won't be making its Malaunch date as announced in 2018. ![]() This could increase the project costs even further, with NASA planning a reassessment of the current launch date in spring 2020.įor curious minds, the James Webb Space Telescope seems to take forever to make its way into space and report back data about the origins and mysteries of the universe. What just happened? In its latest report, the US Government Accountability Office found that although NASA's JWST project has made significant progress since GAO's March 2019 report, new technical challenges emerging later in the year have resulted in schedule strain. ![]()
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