NASA says that the glitch has affected the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (or NIRISS), causing it to time out. While that is troublesome, it’s important to note that Webb isn’t about to spin out of control because of this software glitch. NASA says that there is no indication of any danger to the spacecraft at all at the moment and that all the other instruments onboard are fine.
The James Webb space telescope was launched in December of 2021, arriving at its final destination just a few weeks later. Since then, Webb has delivered image after image giving us glimpses into the mysteries of the early universe, with Webb even detecting its first exoplanet a few short weeks ago. This software glitch, then, is just another hurdle for Webb to overcome.
