James Webb Space Telescope runs 20-year-old JavaScript engine from bankrupt company
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which has already delivered some astonishing images, is primarily controlled by JavaScript code based on a software development kit from 2003.
The Verge reports that a manuscript for the JWST’s Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) reveals that the software for the module is controlled by the Script Processor Task, which “runs scripts written in JavaScript”.
The JWST is loaded with several scripts for completing a range of specific tasks.
When the scientists on the ground instruct it to run such tasks, the Script Processor interprets the JavaScript programs, which then activates other applications and systems based on what the script demands.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) describes the ISIM as “the heart of the James Webb Space Telescope”.
This is because it comprises instruments that capture images through the telescope, and the JavaScript code controls the process.
A paper about the telescope’s systems — written by Ilana Dshevsky and Vicky Balzano of the Space Telescope Science Institute — reveals that the JWST uses Nombas ScriptEase 5.00e.
ScriptEase 5.00e is a language that follows the ECMAScript standard.
However, Nombas went bankrupt in the 2000s and the last update to ScriptEase 5.00e was released in January 2003.
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