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The James Webb Telescope Lights Up the Sky During Launch

JWST Launch 12-25-21
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, launched aboard Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, launched aboard Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021, from the ELA-3 Launch Zone of Europe’s Spaceport at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. JWST is an infrared telescope with a 21.3 foot (6.5 meter) primary mirror. The observatory will study every phase of cosmic history—from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe.

Over about two weeks, NASA will provide broadcast coverage, media briefings, and other updates on major deployment milestones for the James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s largest and most powerful space science telescope.

Broadcasts of milestone events will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls