About a half hour before launch, engineers in the payload control room switch the spacecraft from external electrical power to the spacecraft’s on-board battery. A few hours before liftoff, the rocket is loaded with liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. Engineers monitor the rocket via electrical connections running from the payload control room to the pad through an umbilical attachment to the vehicle that separates at liftoff. Credit: NASA/Chris GunnĪs a fully integrated launch vehicle with Webb as the payload, the Ariane rocket will roll out to the launch pad a few days before launch. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope rolls to its final stop before launch from Arianespace’s ELA-3 launch complex at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America. At this point, Webb will be very nearly ready to launch from Europe’s Spaceport, also known as the Guiana Space Center (CSG). Then the rocket fairing is lifted and lowered over top and locked into place, signifying the conclusion of a long journey. Next, Webb will move to the nearby vehicle integration building to be lifted and mounted on top of the Ariane 5 rocket “stack.” The final few remove-before-flight “red-tag” items are taken off, and a few remaining add-before-flight “green tag” items are installed.

A trained crew in special hazmat suits will soon begin the two-week process of loading the spacecraft with the hydrazine fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer it will need to power its rocket thrusters to maintain its orbit. Then engineers ran a final set of electrical and functional tests and checked the stowed mechanical configuration to ensure delivery went smoothly. These preparations are expected to last 55 days from the observatory’s arrival by ship to the day of launch.Īfter Webb arrived at the Arianespace clean room facilities in French Guiana, contamination control technicians ensured the observatory is clean and contaminant free following its 5,800 mile journey. Now that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has safely arrived at its launch site in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America, technical teams have begun making progress on the final checklist of preparations before liftoff later this year.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

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