The James Webb Space Telescope, created by NASA to give the world its first look of the cosmos as it existed when the first galaxies formed, was launched on early Saturday by rocket from the northeastern coast of South America, ushering in a new age of astronomy.
The revolutionary $9 billion infrared telescope, dubbed ‘the premier space-science observatory of the next decade’ by NASA, was launched into orbit inside the cargo bay of an Ariane 5 rocket from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) launch base in French Guiana at about 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT).
The perfect launch, which included a countdown in French, was broadcast live on a joint NASA-ESA webcast on Christmas Day. The launch brought to an end to an operation that had been in the works for decades, finally coming to conclusion after years of delays and cost overruns.
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