NASA has announced a new launch date for the most powerful space telescope ever built – James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope will now take flight on December 18. But with so many delays over the years, many observers may be skeptical about the new launch date as well.
The new space observatory will take off aboard an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The telescope will be placed in orbit around one million miles from our planet. It will serve as the premier space observatory for the next 10 years. It will work alongside the legendary Hubble Space telescope that has been operational for three decades.
Most powerful space telescope
NASA noted James Webb telescope’s advanced technology will allow astronomers to explore “every phase of cosmic history — from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe, and everything in between,” adding that “Webb will reveal new and unexpected discoveries, and help humankind understand the origins of the universe and our place in it.”
And if we consider the exceptional work done by the Hubble Space Telescope, we can expect its new partner to chronicle even more mesmerizing images of the cosmos. The product of a partnership between NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency, the new space telescope comes equipped with a 6.5-meter-diameter golden mirror that is built using 18 hexagonal segments that will allow it to take a clearer look at deep space than ever before.
An origami in space
The new space telescope is packed like origami and will unfold its arms once in orbit. The science operations will begin in the next six months if all things go as planned. ESA calls the James Webb telescope “the next great space science observatory.”
It can potentially find life signatures on other planets in a short time. The space telescope was earlier scheduled to embrace the skies in 2020; however, after the pandemic, the launch date had to be changed several times. It will help scientists unfurl the mysteries of the cosmos and broaden our understanding of outer space.
