Topic: James Webb Space Telescope

NASA reports that the 18 segments of the James Webb Space Telescope's main mirror are currently out of alignment and will require months of "jiggling" to fix. Unlike the Hubble, the telescope is a million miles away and cannot be serviced by astronauts. The hosts expressed skepticism about the "live animated" visualizations used by NASA, jokingly comparing the device to a "GoldenEye" laser.

A Japanese H-IIA rocket successfully launched a British communications satellite, maintaining a 98% success rate. Meanwhile, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched by the European Space Agency, amid minor controversy regarding its namesake's historical record.

NASA is preparing to launch the James Webb Space Telescope from French Guiana, a project described as having 300 single points of failure. The telescope faces controversy from the LGBTQ community due to its namesake’s role in the Truman administration’s discrimination against gay employees. The hosts discuss the technical risks of the "origami observatory" which cannot be repaired once in orbit.