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Honored Contributor
gardenman
Posts: 27,369
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: First James Webb Space Telescope Photo Today

‎07-12-2022 10:53 AM

@kaydee50 wrote:

Is this the $10 billion telescope???  I'm in favor of space exploration but the cost of this seems a little?? excessive..

They had to get this right the first try as its orbit is out of reach of our service capabilities. Hubble was "in the neighborhood" and could be serviced when things went wrong. (And things went wrong.) The James Webb telescope is not "in the neighborhood." Spaceflight of all types is insanely expensive. When you put something where it can't be serviced, you need to make sure it's right.

 

We don't just take ten billion one-dollar bills and launch them into space. That money stays here in salaries and jobs to find and exploit the raw materials and pay the workers and teams working on it. The money just doesn't evaporate, it stays here. The technology developed for the space program is part of why we have computers and online forums these days. Much of the technology we use every day comes from space programs. 

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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