The JWST is likely responsible for more deaths of NASA personnel than anything else, given how much stress and anxiety it's caused. Lol
On a serious note though. It's absolutely imperative that the JWST launch and orbit be successful. Looking at the bigger picture (pun intended). Whatever images it brings us, and whatever mysteries it helps solve is completely secondary in importance.
Of course it's success is important because if all goes to plan, it will definitely allow us a glimpse to see things that up until now just hasn't been possible. But.... and it's a big but to be sure. What's not often considered are the repercussions of it's time and cost overruns.
Sure it's well known that the JWST has had numerous delays and cost increases. What's not often talked about though are the effects of that. For instance, while much of the initial planning and such took place well before. Funding for Hubble started flowing in 1977. By 1981 the mirror was completed, with the rest being ready by late 1985. From funding to finished took roughly 8 years, and had it not been for the Challenger disaster, Hubble would've launched in 1986 as originally scheduled instead of 1990.
Approved in 1996, JWST was supposed to originally take even less time than Hubble to build and launch. However, it wasn't long before NASA determined that it would launch sometime in 2007. Well... we see how that went. When you consider that, along with just how ridiculously overpriced it ended up being. The JWST isn't near as impressive as many think. At least not positively.
Excluding outside factors. Hubble was ready to go in ten years, and despite it's initial problems... Has provided us with a steady stream of amazing images for almost 30 years now. JWST on the other hand has taken 25 years. Initially expected to cost somewhere around $500 million, that estimate quickly doubled to $1 billion shortly after. Now 25 years later and we're at a minimum expected cost of $10 billion.
it's likely some of you are asking yourselves "Why are you shitting on the JWST man?" and that's perfectly understandable. So let me explain just how bad the JWST has fucked us... All of us.
At it's core, the JWST is telescope designed in 1996, via 1996 tech, with 1996 goals in mind. Sure it's had some upgrades and improvements, but it's 1996 at a fundamental level. There wouldn't be anything inherently wrong with that had it launched sometime around 2007. Even if outside factors had delayed it to 2012 or so, it wouldn't have been too bad. Of course that would've still been over a decade ago, and that is definitely a problem. Just looking at the timetables alone. What should've been a schedule that looked something like this,
Hubble from start to launch. 1977-1990
Hubble Primary operations 1990-2005
JWST from start to launch 1996-2007
JWST primary operations 2007-2017
Next major project start to launch 2014-202?
ended up being anything but. As we all know, this telescope can't be repaired or updated the way Hubble could. Which makes it look even worse. At this moment, we should be getting excited about the future launch of a cutting edge telescope. It should just be whatever telescope was set to launch after the JWST. As time, discoveries, science, and our understanding of things progresses. Our single greatest tools have not. Not since 1990 anyway. The JWST's ridiculous delays have literally cost us an entire generation of our greatest observation tools.
Anyone knowledgeable about business will tell you that, throwing money at budget overrun problems is a fools errand. It's been proven to be unprofitable, and can potentially cripple your business. But politicians aren't businessmen, and it isn't their money. But that doesn't mean the consequences are entirely lost on them either though.
So where does that leave us? Well, at the edge of a cliff really. Sure our fabricated wings are plated in gold, and have been checked numerous times, but they're unnecessarily complex, and prohibitively expensive. We hope to fly, and can't afford to fall. There's a line forming behind us of other's who are hoping that we'll fall, and that they will fly. As we take that final step up to the ledge, and prepare to launch... Don't let it be lost on you that while the JWST has already cost us an entire generation of would be telescope of one form or another... But should this thing not go almost perfect, that our government will likely refuse to fund another one for the foreseeable future. Costing us yet another generation of universe observation tools. Not to mention the possible effects it would have on an ever diminishing NASA as a whole.
In regards to space, and our understanding of it. If this thing is a success, we could potentially gain a lot. If it fails however, it likely costs everyone over the age of 30 everything. Impressive as it is, the JWST is a clusterfuck of monumental proportions. We've backed ourselves into a corner where the risks outweigh the rewards tenfold.
