Arianespace’s fourteenth launch of 2021 with the third Ariane 5 of the year will place Webb Space Telescope in a transfer orbit to Lagrange 2 point. The launcher will be carrying a total payload of maximum 6,173 kg.
Webb Space Telescope
THE LARGEST AND MOST POWERFUL SPACE SCIENCE TELESCOPE
Intended as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, the WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE was funded by three space agencies: the United States (NASA), Europe (ESA) and Canada (CSA). The telescope will be 100 times more powerful, and will incorporate improved and different technologies to capture 70% more light. Because of these improvements, astronomers will be able to make unprecedented observations that show the first stars and galaxies to be formed after the Big Bang.
After a journey lasting 29 days, the most powerful space telescope ever built will be placed into orbit around the Lagrange 2 point so that it can observe galaxies, planets, stars and even nebulae and help us to unravel the secrets of the Universe.
The journey of the telescope in detail:
→ On the third day, the heat shield will begin to deploy. On the eleventh day, the secondary mirror will begin positioning.
→ Between the 13th and 14th day, the primary mirror, comprising 18 hexagonal segments and measuring 6.5 meters in diameter, will be assembled.
→ The telescope is slated to arrive at its final destination, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, approximately 29 days after launch.
Webb will be the 62nd mission (85th satellite) to be launched by Arianespace for ESA,
Webb will be the 28th scientific mission to be launched by Arianespace (35th satellite).
DID YOU KNOW ?
Several new technologies were developed during the building of the Webb telescope, including innovative spinoffs that have already improved life here on Earth, such as advances in eye surgery.
– Carrying out its final mission of the year, the Ariane 5 rocket once again proved its exceptional reliability, this time for the benefit of research and space exploration.
– After a journey lasting 29 days, the most powerful space telescope ever built will be placed into orbit around the Lagrange 2 point so that it can observe galaxies, planets, stars and even nebulae and help us to unravel the secrets of the Universe.
On Saturday, December 25, 2021 at 9:20 am local time, an Ariane 5 rocket lifted off from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana (South America), injecting the Webb Space Telescope, developed by NASA in partnership with ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), into its transfer orbit. The telescope was successfully separated from the launcher 27 minutes after liftoff.
The telescope now embarks on a voyage lasting 29 days to reach the second Lagrange point.
On the third day, the heat shield will begin to deploy. On the eleventh day, the secondary mirror will begin positioning.
Between the 13th and 14th day, the primary mirror, comprising 18 hexagonal segments and measuring 6.5 meters in diameter, will be assembled.
The telescope is slated to arrive at its final destination, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, approximately 29 days after launch.
The space agencies of the United States (NASA), Europe (ESA) and Canada (CSA) teamed up to develop this telescope. Europe played an important role in this mission, with ESA providing the launch onboard Ariane 5, as well as the Nirspec spectrometer built by Airbus. The astrophysics department of the Saclay-based CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) and the Paris Observatory designed the MIRI camera. This is the most ambitious telescope ever sent into space.
“Today’s launch is the mission of the decade,” said Stephane Israël, Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace, “one that demonstrates the reliability of Arianespace’s launch services in the eyes of the international space community. It’s a great honor for us to have been chosen for this launch, which will enable humanity to take a giant step forward in its knowledge of the Universe. The mission demanded 20 years of preparation hand in hand with NASA. It’s the third launch we have performed for the American space agency, clearly illustrating the advantage of large-scale international collaboration in space. I would like to thank ESA, NASA and CSA for entrusting us with their invaluable payload. To launch on Christmas morning 42 years after the takeoff of the first Ariane from this same Kourou site… What a great end of year present for the space community gathered today for this launch.
I would also like to thank the teams of Arianespace, ArianeGroup, Cnes and ESA who worked without letup to ensure this success, all motivated by the same passion.”
Intended as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, the Webb Space Telescope will be 100 times more powerful. It will incorporate improved and different technologies to capture 70% more light. Because of these innovations, astronomers will be able to make unprecedented observations that show the first stars and galaxies to be formed after the Big Bang.
“This latest success is undoubtedly one of the most iconic space exploration launches performed by Ariane 5, following the Rosetta comet mission and Europe’s ATV resupply vessels for the International Space Station,” said André-Hubert Roussel, CEO of ArianeGroup. “Ariane 5 is known as the world’s most reliable launch vehicle, but, like everybody who contributed to the success of this mission, we were holding our breath when our launcher lifted off with this scientific jewel, one protected by a special fairing tailored for its sophisticated instruments. All previous launches also prepared this one, because we knew that the eyes of the world would be on us. There are just five more Ariane 5 launches scheduled before this legendary launcher bows out. Everybody at ArianeGroup is fully committed to making Ariane 6, scheduled for a first launch from Kourou in 2022, Europe’s next great achievement in space. I would like to thank ESA, NASA and CSA for placing their trust in us, and also all of our Ariane 5 partners in Europe, who are surely as proud as I am today.”
The engineers from ArianeGroup, Arianespace and their European industrial partners developed specific solutions for this mission to ensure the perfect compatibility between Ariane 5 and its passenger.
A special adapter for the satellite was designed and built in compliance with the available space under the fairing: the telescope measures 10.5 meters high and nearly 4.5 meters wide under the fairing, versus 21 x 14 meters once deployed.
The fairing underwent a special cleaning to ensure that no dust could come in contact with the telescope and its essential mirrors.
Pistons were placed near the purge vents in the fairing to force their opening and reduce as much as possible any pressure differential between the inside of the fairing where the telescope is located and the vacuum of space;
To protect the telescope’s fragile components from any undesirable thermal effects, the flight software has been set up so that Ariane 5 performed a specific roll maneuver to control its exposure to the Sun once the fairing was jettisoned.
Following the separation of the telescope from the upper stage of the launcher, in order to avoid any risk of possible collision between the two, a specific maneuver was carried out to move the stage away after the end of its propulsion phase using its propellants and residual gases.
By drawing on the combined experience of more than 100 Ariane 5 missions, Arianespace provided an exceptionally precise orbital injection towards the second Lagrange point.
ArianeGroup is prime contractor for Ariane 5 and Ariane 6, in charge of development and production, at the head of a vast industrial network of more than 600 companies, including 350 small and medium-size enterprises (SME). ArianeGroup coordinates all industrial activities concerning Ariane 5, from initial design studies and performance upgrades, to production and the supply of the data or software needed for each mission. Its responsibilities include various components, subassemblies and structures, the production of propulsion systems, stage integration and then integration of the launcher itself at the Guiana Space Center. ArianeGroup delivers a flighworthy launcher on the launch pad to its subsidiary Arianespace, which oversees flight operations for its customers, starting with liftoff.
Ariane 5 is a European Space Agency (ESA) program, carried out in collaboration between industry and public institutions. Marketed and operated by Arianespace, Ariane 5 launches are carried out at the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana, with support from the French space agency CNES (Centre national d’études spatiales).
About Arianespace
Arianespace uses space to make life better on Earth by providing launch services for all types of satellites into all orbits. It has orbited over 1,000 satellites since 1980, using its family of three launchers, Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, from launch sites in French Guiana (South America) and from the Russian cosmodromes in Baikonur and Vostochny. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, and has a technical facility at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Singapore. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, which holds 74% of its share capital, with the balance held by 15 other shareholders from the European launcher industry. www.arianespace.com
About ArianeGroup
ArianeGroup is lead contractor for Europe’s Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 launcher families, responsible for both design and the entire production chain, up to and including marketing by its Arianespace subsidiary, as well as for the missiles of the French oceanic deterrent force. The group is a joint venture equally owned by Airbus and Safran, and employs approximately 7500 highly qualified staff in France and Germany. ArianeGroup develops and supplies innovative and competitive solutions for civil and military space launchers, with expertise in all aspects of state-of-the-art propulsion technologies. ArianeGroup and its subsidiaries enjoy a global reputation as specialists in the field of equipment and propulsion for space applications, while their expertise also benefits other industrial sectors. Its 2020 revenues amounted to 2.7 billion euros. www.ariane.group
ARIANE 5 ENTRE DANS LA LEGENDE AVEC LE SUCCES DE SA MISSION POUR WEBB
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ARIANE 5 SCHREIBT GESCHICHTE MIT DEM ERFOLGREICHEN LAUNCH DES WEBB-WELTRAUM-TELESKOPS
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– Webb will be the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space.
– Webb is an international collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
– The launcher and launch services are part of the ESA contribution to the Webb project.
Arianespace, the European launch service provider, has defined jointly with NASA (the American space agency) and ESA (the European space agency) December 18, 2021 as the targeted launch date for Flight VA256. This third Ariane 5 launch of the year 2021 will orbit NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. This will be the third Ariane 5 launch of the year, following VA254, which was successful on July 30, 2021, and VA255, which is scheduled for October 22, 2021.
“We are extremely honored to orbit NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with Ariane, a ‘first’ for Arianespace and the European space team”, said Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace. “For 14 years, our teams worked hard for Webb’s debut, which is now scheduled for December 18, 2021. It is thrilling to know that, once Ariane 5 will have delivered this mission, we will soon know more about the deepest secrets of our Universe, especially how the first galaxies, stars and planets were born and have been evolving since then.”
Beatriz Romero, Head of Webb project at Arianespace, added: “Today, we are entering into the final preparation phase of the launch campaign. Ahead of us, we will see important milestones, such as the mating of the satellite with the launcher, which will require the highest level of skill, dedication and excellence. All our teams in Continental Europe and in French Guiana are focused on the Webb mission, and are in daily contact with our partners ESA and NASA, and our teams”.
Important milestones of the launch program have already been passed or are upcoming, such as the final mission analysis review for its launch on July 1st, 2021, the shipment of the Ariane 5 launcher elements from continental Europe to French Guiana on August 17, 2021, or the scheduled shipment of Webb to Guiana, by October, 2021.
The James Webb Space Telescope will be the largest, most powerful space telescope ever launched. Following Hubble, Webb is designed to answer profound questions about the Universe and to make breakthrough discoveries in all fields of astronomy. Webb will gaze deeper into our origins: from the formation of stars and planets, to the birth of the first galaxies in the early Universe.
Webb is an international partnership, under the leadership of NASA with the contribution of ESA and CSA. One of ESA’s contributions to the collaboration is the observatory’s launch aboard the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was also responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 modifications for the mission, such as the upper part elements, in particular the fairing, as well as the flight programs, for the procurement of the launch service and for NIRSPEC and the optical system of MIRI, two key instruments of the Webb telescope.
The VA256 mission will use the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher, an ESA programme carried out in cooperation between public institutions and industry. ArianeGroup is the lead contractor for the development and production of Ariane 5, as well as responsible for campaign operations up to liftoff. Ariane 5 is marketed and operated by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, with the participation of the French space agency CNES, as responsible for the design and the maintenance of the launch range and the satellite preparation facilities.
About Arianespace
Arianespace uses space to make life better on Earth by providing launch services for all types of satellites into all orbits. It has orbited more than 900 satellites since 1980, using its family of three launchers, Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, from launch sites in French Guiana (South America) and from the Russian cosmodromes in Baikonur and Vostochny. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, and has a technical facility at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Singapore. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, which holds 74% of its share capital, with the balance held by 15 other shareholders from the European launcher industry.
Arianespace’s Ariane 5 is the world reference for heavy-lift launchers, capable of carry
payloads weighing more than 10 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) and
over 20 metric tons into low-Earth orbit (LEO) – with a high degree of accuracy mission
after mission. Developed by under management of the European Space Agency (ESA),
Ariane 5 is able to loft the heaviest spacecraft either in production or on the drawing
boards, and enables Arianespace to match up most telecommunications satellites for
highly efficient dual launches – a capability that has been proven by the company in
Ariane-series missions since the 1980s.
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