The James Webb Space Telescope can maintain its orbit at the L2 Lagrange point indefinitely
the verdict
REFUTED
the evidence says no
refutedsupported
the weight of evidence
0 sources for · 3 against
AS REPORTEDno primary record reached; this is what the reporting says
Evidence indicates that the L2 Lagrange point is metastable, requiring fuel and active station-keeping for a satellite to maintain its orbit, meaning it cannot stay there indefinitely.
The first three (L1, L2, L3) are called metastable because if a satellite gets a bit out of place, it will fall away from that point, and not come back without using fuel. L4 and L5 are considered stable - if a satellite gets a bit out of place, it will be pulled back into place by the gravity and centripetal forces, and oscillate around the Lagrange point. This can result in very wide swings around L4 and L5, sometimes called by such names as "tadpole" and "horseshoe" orbits. NASA has inserted satellites into two Lagrange points of the Sun-Earth system. The L1 point (between the Earth and the sun) is used for satellites in a halo orbit to watch the sun, looking for solar flares. The L2 point (beyond the Earth) is used for space telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope launched on 25 December 2021. It is a million miles (about 1.5 million kilometers) from Earth.[2]
Because L4 and L5 are stable, they have attracted dust clouds. The Earth-Sun system has attracted a few asteroids and the bigger planets have more and larger ones. These asteroids are called Trojan asteroids.[3]
References
- ↑ "Lagrange points". NASA. Retrieved 14 May 2013. - ↑ "James Webb Space Telescope".
NASA Says Webb’s Excess Fuel Likely to Extend its Lifetime Expectations - NASA Science
Search
## Suggested Searches
## James Webb Space Telescope
#### Categories
# NASA Says Webb’s Excess Fuel Likely to Extend its Lifetime Expectations
After a successful launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Dec. 25, and completion of two mid-course correction maneuvers, the Webb team has analyzed its initial trajectory and determined the observatory should have enough propellant to allow support of science operations in orbit for significantly more than a 10-year science lifetime. (The minimum baseline for the mission is five years.)
The analysis shows that less propellant than originally planned for is needed to correct Webb’s trajectory toward its final orbit around the second Lagrange point known as L2, a point of gravitational balance on the far side of Earth away from the Sun. Consequently, Webb will have much more than the baseline estimate of propellant – though many factors could ultimately affect Webb’s duration of operation.
Webb has rocket propellant onboard not only for midcourse correction and insertion into orbit around L2, but also for necessary functions during the li
# Could JWST stay at L2 "forever"?
Tags: orbital-mechanics, station-keeping, james-webb-telescope, halo-orbit, lissajous-orbit
- Score: 20
- Views: 5298
- Answers: 4
- Answered: yes
- Asked by: user19132
- Asked: 2019-04-09
- Edited: 2021-02-23
- Site: space
## Question
Using only reaction wheels powered by solar panel and the sunshield as a sail (in continuous active attitude control) to generate thrust from solar photon pressure in the desired direction, could JWST stay in its orbit around L2 "forever" (theoretically at least)?
In this case it couldn't fulfill it's main objective, which is to be a space telescope pointing at distant objects for long exposure time. But this is a hypothetical question asking about its orbital dynamics.
Anyway, could this be a practical way to set JWST on "pause" for say 2 years, without burning fuel/ejecting mass to keep its orbit around L2?
## Answers
### Answer by PearsonArtPhoto (score: 19 [ACCEPTED])
According to Wikipedia, the delta-v requirements to stay at L1 or L2 are about 30-100 m/s per year. That seems quite high, however, more likely is around 5-16 m/s. The sun shield has an area of about 300 m^2. The thrust possible is about 0
Everything we examined (3)
This check searched the claim as stated. It did not run a separate search for evidence against it.