Online Public Relations Thoughts

This release from NASA is part of a stream of PR messages about the Webb deep-space telescope.  It assures the world's scientific community that everything is on schedule and working well as the scope is fine-tuned for astronomical observations.  There is a note of hype in it as if the instrument already is working at maximum capacity, but the writer does say more tools must be readied, and there are another six weeks of bringing the scope online.  The release is a progress report.  As such, it should have been more conservative in its approach.  There is always a chance one or more of the instruments packages will suddenly fail for no reason, leaving the scope crippled for its lifespan.  There is no way to visit the scope on a repair mission as was done multiple times with Hubble. Everything on Webb must work correctly from the start.  It is a huge pressure on the Webb team's scientists and engineers.  The release should have acknowledged that.