NASA OFFICIALS ARE WORRIED THAT PIRATES WILL STEAL THE JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE

Futurism ^ | 03/12/2021 | Victor Tangermann

[BenLurkin]

The massive space telescope, featuring a 21 foot mirror, and a tennis court-sized protective cage, is far too large to stick inside a plane.

Instead, NASA will have to ship the massive mirror right through the Panama Canal for its eventual launch in French Guiana — and NASA is worried that the journey could attract robbers.

The shipping time and location will be hush-hush to ward off any extremely ambitious thieves. All we know is that it will sail off in late summer.

It’s an especially harrowing sea passage for a project that has been going on for over two decades. NASA has poured almost $10 billion into the project over that time period.

Surprisingly, it wouldn’t be the first heist of its kind. In 1984, a steel structure for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope was kidnapped by its cargo vessel’s commercial captain, ,,,

[sloanrb]

No idea. I didn’t think piracy was a big problem in the Western Hemisphere. Monroe Doctrine and all that.

From the article it sounds like a transport captain tried to hold the shipment hostage for extra fees. I didn’t think that was piracy. Stupid journalist not understanding the meaning of words. But that’s to be expected.