Test results awaited to set launch date for James Webb Space Telescope

NASA engineers and managers plan to meet Thursday evening to review test results and decide whether they can press ahead with launch of the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope on Christmas Eve morning or whether more time is needed to resolve a data communications issue.

"We're not taking any risks with Webb," said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's science chief. "It's already risky enough the way it is. We're absolutely making sure that everything works."

Assuming a decision to proceed, the telescope, already mounted atop its Ariane 5 rocket in Kourou, French Guiana, will be "encapsulated" Friday when two halves of a protective nose cone fairing are attached, hiding the spacecraft from view — and easy access.