Position & trajectory
On the way to L2
A ballistic coast to Sun–Earth L2, 1.50M km out — slowing the whole way, with one correction burn en route and one to insert. Position from the JPL Horizons ephemeris.
Trajectory
Sun–Earth rotating frame
State vector
JPL Horizons ephemeris, interpolated to now
Range from Earth
Reaches L2 distance slower than a passenger jet
JPL Horizons ephemeris, published through 04 Oct 2028. Dashed: predicted.
Speed relative to Earth
Earth's gravity, unopposed — until L2's pull flattens the coast. TCM-1 is too small to see at this scale.
Burn schedule
Injection is aimed deliberately short — the observatory can add speed but never brake without turning its sunshade toward the Sun — and TCM-1 makes up the difference.
L+1 days
executedTrajectory Correction 1
31 Aug 2026
The first and largest correction burn removes launch-vehicle injection error. It must fire early — a trans-L2 trajectory is deliberately biased short so it can never be aimed at the observatory's own sunshade.
L+4 days
not reportedTrajectory Correction 2
03 Sept 2026 · planned
A small mid-course cleanup burn, flown only if needed, refines the approach so that the insertion maneuver at L2 stays inside its propellant budget.
L+100 days
plannedL2 Orbit Insertion
08 Dec 2026 · planned
A modest burn at the edge of the Earth–Sun L2 region captures the observatory into a wide halo orbit roughly 1.5 million km from Earth. The halo is unstable by design, so it is maintained with small station-keeping burns every few weeks.
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