Editor's note: This release was updated on Dec. 25 to reflect the observatory's release at approximately 870 miles (1,400 kilometers).
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launched at 7:20
a.m. EST Saturday on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French
Guiana, South America.
A joint effort with ESA (European Space Agency) and
the Canadian Space Agency, the Webb observatory is NASA’s revolutionary
flagship mission to seek the light from the first galaxies in the early
universe and to explore our own solar system, as well as planets orbiting other
stars, called exoplanets.
NASA’s James Webb Space
Telescope launched Dec. 25 at 7:20 a.m. EST on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s
Spaceport in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America. Webb, a
partnership 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 distant observable galaxies in the early universe. Credits:
NASA/Bill Ingalls
“The James Webb Space Telescope represents
the ambition that NASA and our partners maintain to propel us forward into the
future,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The promise of Webb is not what
we know we will discover; it’s what we don’t yet understand or can’t yet fathom
about our universe. I can’t wait to see what it uncovers!”
Ground teams began receiving telemetry data from Webb
about five minutes after launch. The Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket performed as
expected, separating from the observatory 27 minutes into the flight. The
observatory was released at an altitude of approximately 870 miles (1,400
kilometers). Approximately 30 minutes after launch, Webb unfolded its solar
array, and mission managers confirmed that the solar array was providing power
to the observatory. After solar array deployment, mission operators will
establish a communications link with the observatory via the Malindi ground
station in Kenya, and ground control at the Space Telescope Science Institute
in Baltimore will send the first commands to the spacecraft.
Engineers and ground controllers will conduct the
first of three mid-course correction burns about 12 hours and 30 minutes after
launch, firing Webb’s thrusters to maneuver the spacecraft on an optimal
trajectory toward its destination in orbit about 1 million miles from Earth.
“I want to congratulate the team on this incredible
achievement – Webb’s launch marks a significant moment not only for NASA, but
for thousands of people worldwide who dedicated their time and talent to this
mission over the years,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the
Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Webb’s
scientific promise is now closer than it ever has been. We are poised on the
edge of a truly exciting time of discovery, of things we’ve never before seen
or imagined.”
The world’s largest and most complex space science
observatory will now begin six months of commissioning in space. At the end of
commissioning, Webb will deliver its first images. Webb carries four
state-of-the-art science instruments with highly sensitive infrared detectors
of unprecedented resolution. Webb will study infrared light from celestial
objects with much greater clarity than ever before. The premier mission is the
scientific successor to NASA’s iconic Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes,
built to complement and further the scientific discoveries of these and other
missions.
“The launch of the Webb Space Telescope is a pivotal
moment – this is just the beginning for the Webb mission,” said Gregory L.
Robinson, Webb’s program director at NASA Headquarters. “Now we will watch
Webb’s highly anticipated and critical 29 days on the edge.
When the spacecraft unfurls in space, Webb will undergo the most difficult and
complex deployment sequence ever attempted in space. Once commissioning is
complete, we will see awe-inspiring images that will capture our imagination.”
The telescope’s revolutionary technology will explore
every phase of cosmic history – from within our solar system to the most
distant observable galaxies in the early universe, to everything in between.
Webb will reveal new and unexpected discoveries and help humanity understand
the origins of the universe and our place in it.
NASA Headquarters oversees the mission for the
agency’s Science Mission Directorate. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Maryland, manages Webb for the agency and oversees work on the mission
performed by the Space Telescope Science Institute, Northrop Grumman, and other
mission partners. In addition to Goddard, several NASA centers contributed to
the project, including the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Alabama, Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and
others.
For more information about the Webb mission, visit: https://webb.nasa.gov
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