NASA’s Hubble successor may miss its launch window
The James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's successor to Hubble, has undergone its share of delays . Now, things are getting even tighter. A report from the US Government Accountability Office finds that because of ongoing technical issues with the telescope, "additional launch delays are likely." What's more, the project is "at risk of breaching its $8 billion cost cap for formulation and development set by Congress in 2011." It's safe to say this isn't good news. Nothing is certain yet, but in September, NASA pushed the launch date of the telescope back to between March and June of 2019. Now, it looks unclear whether that goal can be met. The 31-page long report details myriad technical issues that have put the project behind schedule. The contractor, Northrop Grumman, is trying to catch up but "the contractor has increased its daily work shifts from two to three and is now working 24 hours per day on spacecraft integration, which further limit...