The world’s most powerful space telescope blasted off into orbit on Saturday. After much ado, the James Webb telescope finally headed to an outpost 1.5 million kilometres from Earth.
The James Webb Space Telescope left planet earth enclosed in its Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana.
NASA together with the European and Canadian space agencies, ESA and ACS, built the world’s most powerful telescope.
It is likely to take a month to reach its remote destination.
James Webb is set to beam back fresh insights that will help scientists understand more about the origins of the Universe and other planets like earth far beyond our solar system.
It is named after one of the former NASA directors. The telescope is unequalled in size and complexity.
Its mirror measures 6.5 metres in diameter which is three times the size of the Hubble’s mirror; it is made of 18 hexagonal sections.
It is worth mentioning that the James Webb telescope’s orbit will be much farther than Hubble’s.
The location of James Webb’s orbit is called the Lagrange 2 point; it was chosen in part because it will keep the Earth, the Sun and the Moon all on the same side of its sun shield.
Moreover, this is a historical step when it comes to scientific exploration of the universe.
Moreover, this is a historical step when it comes to scientific exploration of the universe.
James Webb is expected to officially enter service in June.
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