A week after a quiet admission from the NASA went unnoticed, reporters caught on that a “micrometeoroid” caused “significant uncorrectable damage” to America’s celebrated $10 billion Webb Telescope. The Hubble was notorious for being an endlessly orbiting symbol of American decline. But the Webb?

submitted by Chipit from livescience.com

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[–]iamonlyoneman 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

It wasn't unnoticed in the circle of people who care about such things. But they planned on losing capacity over time so it's a "not a big deal" scenario. And yes, everything in space has a limited service life for this and other reasons.

[–]Chipit[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Over time, not immediately.

And obviously they're not going to report this widely. NASA is terrified that their funding will be cut and redirected towards social justice programs. After all, who cares about space exploration other than white people?

[–]iamonlyoneman 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

NASA is already a social justice organization.