--- title: "NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Completes Its Final Tests" description: "NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may finally launch in 2021 after having completed its final litany of critical software and electrical systems tests." date: "2020-07-14" modified: "2020-07-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/nasas-james-webb-space-telescope-completes-its-final-tests" categories: - "James Webb Space Telescope" - "NASA" - "Science & Energy" - "Space" tags: - "James webb" - "james webb space telescope" - "NASA" --- # NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Completes Its Final Tests ![NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may finally launch in 2021 after having completed its final litany of critical software and electrical systems tests.]() *\Image: NASA\* NASA's much-awaited James Webb Space Telescope may finally get its place in the night sky: NASA says it's now completed its final litany of critical software and electrical systems tests, theoretically clearing it for launch as soon as 2021. It's the "largest and most technically complex space science telescope NASA has ever built," according to [a statement](). It's an international collaboration of unprecedented proportions between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. Engineers worked 24 hours a day for 15 days straight, executing over a thousand scripts and instructions — a 1,370 step process, according to NASA. Development of the delay-plagued orbital spyglass began in 1996, with an initial launch planned in 2007. Now, after a slew of major redesigns, [countless]() [delays](), and [budget overruns](), NASA is tentatively eyeing a March 2021 launch. The space agency will reevaluate launch readiness this month. The 21-feet-wide telescope will observe distant space, orbiting the Sun instead of the Earth, but at a distance called the Lagrange point that will keep pace with the Earth, as illustrated in the animation below. https://youtu.be/6cUe4oMk69E An origami-like sunshield the size of a tennis court will keep it cool. Its iconic 18 hexagonal mirror segments, each over four feet in diameter, will combine post-launch into a giant reflector with an area of 25.4 square meters (273 square feet). The huge reflector will allow the telescope to observe the stars in much lower frequency ranges compared to its predecessor, NASA's Hubble space telescope. Each mirror is fabricated from lightweight yet resilient beryllium. The telescope will collect invaluable data using four scientific instruments, including cameras and spectrometers, to find out more about the earliest galaxies that first formed shortly after the Big Bang. It will also observe the early life cycles of stars as they form and evolve. Another goal will be to take the temperature and investigate the chemical properties of other planetary systems to investigate if life can survive in those systems, [according to NASA](). **READ MORE:** [NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Completes Comprehensive Systems Test]() \[NASA\] **More on the space telescope:** *[NASA Finally Assembled The James Webb Space Telescope]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()