This essay is an entry in our "Dear Spacecraft" series, where we ask writers, scientists, and astronomy enthusiasts to share why they feel personally connected to robotic space explorers.
Dear James Webb Space Telescope,
You're going to change everything. When you finally launch in March 2021 (we hope), you're going to shine a light on where we came from and where we might end up living.
We've waited a long time for you; your original target launch date was all the way back in 2007. But I know all about taking a long time to get ready to go out—and when you finally make your appearance, you're going to be beautiful, with your 25-foot golden mirror and your five-layer sunshield. But you’ll be hard at work, too: You'll hang there in a stable orbit, one million miles away from Earth at the L2 Lagrange point, as you gaze out into space.
You'll
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