The world’s most powerful space telescope was ready to uncover the wonders of the universe, but first it needed some help from a little blue truck.

Astronomy’s Most Dazzling Era Is About to Begin

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2022-01-25 08:00:07

The world’s most powerful space telescope was ready to uncover the wonders of the universe, but first it needed some help from a little blue truck. The truck had to haul the James Webb Space Telescope, perched atop a more than 165-foot-tall rocket, to the launchpad at a spaceport in South America in late December. Next to the rocket, the vehicle looked almost decorative. I asked Bruno Gérard how the Ariane 5 rocket, standing crane-your-neck tall in front of us, on a platform hitched to the truck, would make the journey without tipping over.

Like me, Gérard—a vice president at Arianespace, which operates rockets like this one—was wearing a blue hard hat and gripping a gas mask. The rocket wasn’t completely fueled for launch yet, but its firecrackerlike boosters, one on each side, were packed with highly explosive propellant. How was this whole thing tied down?

“Oh, it’s not,” Gérard replied, and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. A $10 billion space telescope was sitting on top of that rocket! Gérard explained that the rocket holds itself down with its massive weight, and rocket crews do it like this all the time. No need to worry.

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