https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Chroot 2026-05-23T18:33:50Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2559:_December_25th_Launch&diff=223076 2021-12-25T13:08:53Z

<p>Chroot: /* Explanation */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2559<br /> | date = December 24, 2021<br /> | title = December 25th Launch<br /> | image = december_25th_launch.png<br /> | titletext = Update: Santa has been destroyed by the range safety officer.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by the REAL SPACE TELESCOPE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> The {{w|James Webb Space Telescope}} is a space telescope jointly developed by NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. It has suffered many, many delays over its development period (as previously referenced in [[2014: JWST Delays]]), but it is finally scheduled to launch on December 25, 2021 (and did launch on schedule).<br /> <br /> In this comic, the James Webb Space Telescope is finally ready to take off. However, unfortunate circumstance occurs: Santa Claus himself, on his way to deliver presents to children, crosses into the path of the telescope. The joke is the implication that, right on the brink of success, this extraordinarily unlucky incident would cause yet another delay, much to Cueball's horror.<br /> <br /> Real launch aborts have {{w|STS-68|occurred}} with fewer than 2 seconds left in the countdown, causing delays of over a month. (A different interpretation is that the telescope might crash into Santa, destroying both.)<br /> <br /> According to the title text, the {{w|range safety officer}} has made the decision to shoot down Santa Claus's sleigh, in order to clear the sky above, protecting the launch window. This seems to demonstrate that they are determined not to let anything else interfere with the launch any further (or that given a choice between destroying both the telescope and Santa or just destroying Santa, the range safety officer chooses the latter).<br /> <br /> In &quot;reality&quot;, Santa Claus performs deliveries overnight, while the launch is scheduled for [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/24/science/webb-telescope-launch-date-livestream.html morning local time], so the timing of such a collision would not occur. Furthermore, Santa already knows about the launch because some thousands of astronomy geeks have asked a new space telescope as a Christmas present in their letters to Santa, and the easiest way for Santa to deliver such a present is just keeping at a safe distance of the launch pad.<br /> <br /> The JWST has been referenced previously in [[1730: Starshade]], [[2014: JWST Delays]], [[2447: Hammer Incident]] and [[2550: Webb]], as well as indirectly in [[975: Occulting Telescope]] and [[1461: Payloads]].<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Close-up of the top of the James Webb Space Telescope launch rocket. A &quot;Webb&quot; logo can be seen alongside other indistinct logos. Some clouds and birds are visible in the background.]<br /> :Caption: T-Minus 10...9...8...<br /> <br /> :[Zoom-out to show the complete rocket and the ground below. The rocket takes up the bottom-left corner. At the top-right, Santa Claus and a line of reindeer are flying in towards the left.]<br /> :Santa: Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!<br /> <br /> :[Ponytail and Cueball sitting at mission control consoles.]<br /> :Cueball: ''Oh no.''<br /> <br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Chroot