Webb Scope's Data Download: A 6-Month Scheduling Scramble

NASA has revealed that the process of downloading data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) involves a six-month scramble to secure network resources. The JWST communicates with Earth through the Deep Space Network (DSN), which also handles communications with several other missions. NASA's Mission Operations Center (MOC) works with the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to schedule time for the JWST to communicate and download data. The DSN allocates different types of radio waves for communication, with the more powerful Ka-band frequencies used to send scientific data. The team contacts the JWST multiple times per day, maintaining communications for several hours at a time.