JavaScript was a famous programming language in its day, but now it is often the month of developers due to its various shortcomings.
However, JavaScript is behind the stunning photos produced by the James Webb telescope. The telescope, which cost USD 10 billion to build, is partially controlled using JavaScript, a programming language created in 2022.
Based on the manuscript for the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) from the James Webb telescope, the software for this ISIM is controlled using the 'Script Processor Task, which runs a series of JavaScript codes to receive commands.
According to NASA, the line of code that turns JavaScript into a command can execute 10 commands at once, as quoted by us from The Verge, Friday (19/8/2022).
Simply put, this is the explanation. The James Webb telescope has been prepared with a series of specific codes to execute specific commands. But to activate it, it is necessary to "order" from the researchers on earth.
Well, when the command is sent, the string of JavaScript code will be translated by a program called script processor, which will "contact" other applications and parts of the system that are needed to execute the command.
So actually JavaScript is not the core operating system on the space telescope. Rather, it functions as a kind of manager, who receives orders and then delegates those orders to his teams.
Even so, JavaScript still has a very important role in the James Webb telescope. Because ISIM is a group of instruments used to take photos through telescopes. Even NASA did not shy away from calling the JavaScript code in ISIM "the heart of the James Webb Space Telescope".
Specifically, the script was written using Nombas ScriptEase 5.00e, the last update of which was released in January 2003.
It is quite unique if you imagine a telescope with super advanced technology at a super expensive cost still using a programming language that was first released almost two decades ago.
But if you look at the history of the James Webb telescope, this selection of JavaScript makes a lot of sense. That is because the telescope development project has actually started since 1989, and the manufacturing construction has started since 2004, which is when ScriptEase 5 was only "old" for two years.
In addition, many spacecraft do use technology that is proven to operate well, not the latest and most advanced technology. For example, NASA's Orion spacecraft that flew in late 2014 uses a single core IBM PowerPC 750X chip, which will be released in 2022.
Oh yes, the old technology in the James Webb telescope is not only the programming language, but also the capacity of the SSD it carries, which has a capacity of 68GB. Yes, the USD 10 billion telescope only has an SSD with the same capacity as the first generation MacBook Air released in 2008.