An “incident” with the James Webb Space Telescope has occurred - Ars Technica

A short update on the projected launch date of the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope came out of NASA on Monday, and it wasn't exactly a heart-warming missive.

The large, space-based telescope's "no earlier than" launch date will slip from December 18 to at least December 22 after an "incident" occurred during processing operations at the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana.

That is where the telescope will launch on an Ariane 5 rocket provided by the European Space Agency.

"Technicians were preparing to attach Webb to the launch vehicle adapter, which is used to integrate the observatory with the upper stage of the Ariane 5 rocket," NASA said in a blog post.

However, NASA, the European Space Agency, and the rocket's operator, Arianespace, have a plan for moving forward.

A senior source at the space agency said this testing is currently running ahead of schedule and that, provided some serious issue is not identified, the December 22 launch date should stick.

NASA's science chief, Thomas Zurbuchen, said Monday it was important for NASA to ensure the telescope was healthy before its launch.