Presented as the successor to the Hubble telescope, launched in 1990, this telescope must explore all the phases of the cosmos with unparalleled precision.
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This time it should be the right one. The launch date of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) by an Ariane 5 rocket, repeatedly postponed, was confirmed for December 24 by NASA and Arianespace on Saturday, December 18. “The James Webb Space Telescope is confirmed for a target launch date of December 24 at 9:20 a.m. Kourou time (1:20 p.m. KST)”, tweeted Arianespace.
️ The James Webb Space Telescope is confirmed for the target launch date of December 24, at 09:20 am Kourou time (12:20 UTC / 13:20 CET).#WebbFliesAriane # VA256 pic.twitter.com/UmdAvB0yQz
– Arianespace (@Arianespace) December 18, 2021
An ultra-complex engineering gem, the JWST will be the largest and most powerful ever to be sent into space. It was built in the United States under the direction of NASA, and incorporates instruments from the European (ESA) and Canadian (CSA) space agencies.
Its launch from the Kourou base, where it arrived in October from California, has been postponed twice following minor issues. NASA and Arianespace wanted to exclude any risk linked to the launch of the instrument, developed for more than 20 years at a cost of around ten billion dollars.
Presented as the successor to the Hubble telescope, launched in 1990, the JWST must explore with unparalleled precision all the phases of the cosmos, up to the first ages of the Universe and the formation of the first galaxies. It will be placed in orbit around the Sun, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.