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Transcript/ScriptThe Week in Space (TV)
HEADLINE: Journey's End for James Webb Space Telescope; Now Comes Work
TEASER: Webb reaches final space destination more than 1.5M km from Earth
PUBLISHED AT: 1/27/2022 at
BYLINE: Arash Arabasadi
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: AP/ REUTERS/ NASA/ TONGA GEOLOGICAL SERVICES/ TONGAN DEPARTMENT OF MINISTRY OF LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES/ CIRA/NOAA/ NOAA/SSEC/CIMSS/ SPACEX
PRODUCER: Arash Arabasadi
SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman, RH
NOTE: PART NO OBSCURE LOGO, PART NO ARCHIVE, PART NO REUSE
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP/ REUTERS/ NASA/ TONGA GEOLOGICAL SERVICES/ TONGAN DEPARTMENT OF MINISTRY OF LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES/ CIRA/NOAA/ NOAA/SSEC/CIMSS/ SPACEX
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT:
VID APPROVED BY:
TYPE:
UPDATE: ))
[[INTRO: The world’s biggest and most powerful space telescope found a parking space. Plus, a lottery winner who couldn’t claim his prize, and a volcanic eruption may offer clues on the formation of planets. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space.]]
((VAR, ANIMATION, WEBB MISSION, AP/NASA, 01/24))
((MUSIC AT SOURCE))
((mandatory cg NASA))
((NARRATOR))
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, reached its final destination this week more than one-and-a-half-million kilometers ((1.61)) from Earth. The journey took about a month, and now begins the fine-tuning for its mission to observe the history of our universe and seek signs of life outside our solar system.
((AP/NASA))
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((Amber Straughn, NASA))
“It’s orbiting just outside the orbit of the Moon. It’s about four times further away [from Earth] than the Moon, so it always has to be pointed out towards deep space. It can’t ever look back at towards the Earth.”
((VAR, ANIMATION, WEBB MISSION, AP/NASA, 01/24))
((MUSIC AT SOURCE))
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((NARRATOR))
NASA’s Amber Straughn told Vox that Webb can’t look at the Earth because it’s an infrared telescope, and the Earth is warm and would just glow in that spectrum of light. To park in space where NASA intended, Webb fired its rocket thrusters for nearly five minutes to put itself in the Sun’s orbit [Earlier we say it’s parked - is it stationary or orbiting along with the Earth/Moon?]. It will take months to align the ten-billion-dollar observatory’s mirrors to begin its research missions in June.
((VOLCANO ERUPTS, TONGA, REUTERS/TONGA GEO SVCS, 01/14))
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((ERUPTION FROM SEA, TONGA, REUTERS/TONGAN DPT LANDS & NAT RESOURCES, 01/15))
((mandatory cg TONGAN DEPARTMENT OF MINISTRY OF LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES))
((NO ARCHIVE/NO REUSE))
((NARRATOR))
Meanwhile, following the recent, massive eruption of an undersea volcano near the Tongan islands, NASA says the blast could offer clues about the formation of other planets.
[RADIO TRACK: NASA’s James Garvin tells Reuters the well-preserved life cycle of a volcano tells scientists a lot about a planet’s history.]
((REUTERS))
((James Garvin, NASA))
“We use Earth as our training ground to project what we know from places like this to other planets that might have oceans; that might have volcanos that erupt under water. And that could definitely have happened on Mars and Venus. And so, they’re our sister worlds. We need to understand these processes.”
((SAT IMAGES, ERUPTION, SPACE, REUTERS/CIRA/NOAA, 01/15))
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((SAT IMAGES, EXPLOSION OVER TONGA, REUTERS/NOAA/SSEC/CIMSS))
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((MUST NOT OBSCURE LOGO))
((VOLCANO FROM SEA, TONGA, REUTERS/TONGAN DEPT NAT RSRCS, 01/15))
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((NO ARCHIVE/NO REUSE))
((NARRATOR))
The January 15 eruption was so powerful that space satellites not only captured the clouds of ash but also an atmospheric shockwave from the volcano close to the speed of sound. NASA’s James Garvin says that by studying the life cycle of a volcano like the one in Tonga, scientists have the “rare opportunity” to understand how other planets formed.
((VAR, SPACEX INSPIRATION 4 LAUNCH, CAPE CANAVERAL, FL, AP/SPACEX, 09/15))
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((NARRATOR))
And finally this week, the winner of last February’s lottery to join the crew of the SpaceX Inspiration 4 mission finally came forward. Florida-based airline pilot Kyle Hippchen won the ticket in a random drawing, but he exceeded the weight limit for the Dragon capsule. Hippchen picked his old college roommate, Chris Sembroski, to fly in his place. Arash Arabasadi, VOA News.
NewsML Media TopicsScience and Technology
Topic TagsSpace
NetworkVOA
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
