Spacewatch: Nasa telescope launch – keep watching this space

Fresh delay to the James Webb Space Telescope, because of test results that need investigating, will bring the cost to $9.6bn

The ambitious James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has a new launch date: March 2021. It had been planned for lift off in October this year, but has suffered numerous delays since the project began in 1996.

Back then, its budget was forecast at $500m and the launch date was set for 2007. But the technical requirements for the mission were so challenging that delays started to mount and costs started to spiral.