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JWST is solar powered. Sun-Earth L2 is in permanent eclipse and may have unstable lighting or heating conditions. A halo orbit about L2 is extraordinarily borin
by CompuHacker 5y ago
JWST is solar powered. Sun-Earth L2 is in permanent eclipse and may have unstable lighting or heating conditions. A halo orbit about L2 is extraordinarily boring and always in full sunlight.
Maintaining L2 or an L2 halo requires propellant.
- eminence32 5y agoAh, great answer, thank you. Do you happen to know the approximate radius of JWST's halo orbit? (Edit below, to answer my own question via wikipedia) > The telescope will circle about the Sun-Earth L2 point in a halo orbit, which will be inclined with respect to the ecliptic, have a radius varying between about 250,000 km (160,000 mi) and 832,000 km (517,000 mi), and take about half a year to complete.
- spookthesunset 5y agoAccording to wikipedia it "[has] a radius varying between about 250,000 km (160,000 mi) and 832,000 km (517,000 mi), and take about half a year to complete".