Аннотация: James Webb Space Telescope. From 0.5 billion to 10 billion dollars. A note on the history of space exploration.
James Webb Space Telescope. From 0.5 billion to 10 billion dollars. A note on the history of space exploration.
Launched on December 25, 2021 into space, the James Webb Space Telescope cost $0.5 billion in 1997, and $9.7 billion in 2021.
Notable financial and budgetary battles took place around the increase in the cost of this telescope. A number of scientific programs were transferred off to the archive because of the need to direct means in favour of this telescope.
How was it possible to convince the US authorities (and, apparently, the authorities of other countries) to send $ 10 billion to create and launch the James Webb Space Telescope?
It can be assumed that a significant role was played by those people who defended the need for the successful completion of the James Webb Space Telescope project.
Who are they?
Probably, there are a lot of such people.
The project is the result of international cooperation between 17 countries, headed by NASA (with significant contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)).
The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center(GSFC) in Maryland managed the development and the Space Telescope Science Institute is operating Webb. The prime contractor was Northrop Grumman.
Let"s watch at John Cromwell Mather, for example.
Mather worked for NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Mather is the senior project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
So, what could convince officials of the United States (and other countries) of the expediency of continuing to finance the James Webb Space Telescope in an increasingly increasing size?
Firstly, John Cromwell Mather has a number of notable scientific achievements.
Secondly, he is a Nobel Prize in Physics laureate.
Thirdly, he is engaged in a kind of charity. We can cite the following fragment from an interview given by John Mather [April 26, 2011]:
"EMJ: You received a significant amount of Nobel Prize money. You and your wife used most of the award money to fund the John and Jane Mather Foundation for Science and the Arts, which, together with The Henry Foundation, Inc., funded the John Mather Nobel Scholarships. The award includes the title "John Mather Nobel Scholar" and a $3,000 scientific travel grant good for two years. Can you please tell us about these foundations and scholarships? Why did you establish them? What is your overall goal for each of them?
JCM: Our aim was to give something back to the Goddard community. I never felt that the money was really mine; it was the team"s money... The young people who have received these scholarships were summer interns at Goddard, and they have used the funds to visit graduate schools, to go to professional meetings, and so forth. But I think the recognition has great value for them too-it tells the world that they have accomplished something of value, and it helps open doors for them. " (https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/about/people/mather_nobel.html )
I think that people like John Cromwell Mather are able to form confidence among officials, that taxpayers' money is being spent correctly.
In addition, a short biography of Amber Straughn can be found on the Internet (https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/meetTheTeam/people/straughn.html ). "Dr. Amber Straughn is an Astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD and serves as the Deputy Project Scientist for James Webb Space Telescope Science Communications. She is also the Associate Director of the Astrophysics Science Division.
Straughn grew up in the small farming town of Bee Branch, Arkansas where her fascination with astronomy began under beautifully dark, rural skies. She obtained her B.S. in Physics at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 2002, and completed her M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics at Arizona State University in 2008. Straughn has been at Goddard full-time since 2008; prior to her current role she held a NASA Postdoctoral Program fellowship. She has been involved in NASA programs since her undergrad years, beginning with flying an experiment on NASA's microgravity KC-135 plane (the "vomit comet") in 2001. During graduate school, Straughn received the NASA Space Grant Fellowship for summer studies, and in 2005 was awarded the 3-year NASA Harriett Jenkins Predoctoral Fellowship.
Straughn's research focuses on interacting and star-forming galaxies in the context of galaxy assembly... Her broad research interests include galaxy formation and evolution...
In addition to research, Straughn's role with the Webb project science team involves working with Communications and Outreach activities. She is an experienced public speaker... Straughn also interacts frequently with the media...
Her love of all things air and space prompted her to become a pilot; she earned her Private Pilot's license in early 2013."
It can be reasonably assumed that the activities of those who interact with the press and with the public also have a positive impact on the financing process of James Webb Space Telescope...
December 27, 2021 12:06
Translation from Russian into English: December 27, 2021 13:51
Владимир Владимирович Залесский "James Webb Space Telescope. От 0,5 миллиарда до 10 миллиардов долларов. Заметка об истории освоения космоса".
{ 2656. James Webb Space Telescope. От 0,5 миллиарда до 10 миллиардов долларов. Заметка об истории освоения космоса.
MMDCXXVI. James Webb Space Telescope. From 0.5 billion to 10 billion dollars. A note on the history of space exploration. }