The James Webb Space Telescope lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europes Spaceport in French Guiana, at 13:20 CET on December 25, 2021, on its amazing mission to unlock the secrets of deep space. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace
NASAs James Webb Space Telescope released at 7:20 a.m. EST Saturday on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europes Spaceport in French Guiana, South America.
A collaboration with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, the Webb observatory is NASAs innovative flagship mission to look for the light from the first galaxies in the early universe and to explore our own planetary system, along with worlds orbiting other stars, called exoplanets.
NASAs James Webb Space Telescope released Dec. 25 at 7:20 a.m. EST on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europes Spaceport in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America. Webb, a collaboration with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, will check out every phase of cosmic history– from within our solar system to the most remote observable galaxies in the early universe. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
” The James Webb Space Telescope represents the ambition that NASA and our partners maintain to propel us forward into the future,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The guarantee of Webb is not what we understand we will find; its what we dont yet comprehend or cant yet fathom about our universe. I cant wait to see what it reveals!”
Webb, a collaboration with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, will explore every phase of cosmic history– from within our solar system to the most remote observable galaxies in the early universe.” The James Webb Space Telescope represents the ambition that NASA and our partners preserve to move us forward into the future,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.” The launch of the Webb Space Telescope is a pivotal moment– this is simply the starting for the Webb objective,” stated Gregory L. Robinson, Webbs program director at NASA Headquarters. When the spacecraft unfurls in area, Webb will go through the most hard and complicated implementation series ever attempted in space. NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, handles Webb for the firm and oversees work on the mission performed by the Space Telescope Science Institute, Northrop Grumman, and other objective partners.
Ground teams started receiving telemetry information from Webb about five minutes after launch. The Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket carried out as anticipated, separating from the observatory 27 minutes into the flight. The observatory was launched at an altitude of roughly 75 miles (120 kilometers). Roughly 30 minutes after launch, Webb unfolded its solar variety, and mission managers confirmed that the solar selection was providing power to the observatory. After solar range implementation, mission operators will establish a communications connect with the observatory by means of the Malindi ground station in Kenya, and ground control at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore will send the very first commands to the spacecraft.
Engineers and ground controllers will carry out the very first of three mid-course correction burns about 12 hours and 30 minutes after launch, firing Webbs thrusters to maneuver the spacecraft on an ideal trajectory toward its destination in orbit about 1 million miles from Earth.
” I want to congratulate the group on this incredible accomplishment– Webbs launch marks a substantial minute not only for NASA, however for countless people worldwide who devoted their time and talent to this objective over the years,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Webbs clinical guarantee is now closer than it ever has been. We are poised on the edge of a genuinely exciting time of discovery, of things weve never ever before seen or thought of.”
At the end of commissioning, Webb will provide its very first images. Webb carries 4 cutting edge science instruments with extremely sensitive infrared detectors of extraordinary resolution.
Webb spacecraft separation. Credit: NASA
” The launch of the Webb Space Telescope is a pivotal moment– this is just the starting for the Webb mission,” said Gregory L. Robinson, Webbs program director at NASA Headquarters. When the spacecraft unfurls in space, Webb will undergo the most difficult and complicated release sequence ever tried in space.
The telescopes advanced innovation will explore every phase of cosmic history– from within our planetary system to the most remote observable galaxies in the early universe, to everything in between. Webb will expose new and unexpected discoveries and assist humankind comprehend the origins of the universe and our location in it.
Related: James Webb Space Telescope Launch Timeline As It Happened
NASA Headquarters oversees the objective for the firms Science Mission Directorate. NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, handles Webb for the company and manages work on the mission performed by the Space Telescope Science Institute, Northrop Grumman, and other objective partners. In addition to Goddard, numerous NASA centers added to the job, including the firms Johnson Space Center in Houston, Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Ames Research Center in Californias Silicon Valley, and others.