Telescope launches to see first galaxies and distant worlds
From: NASA
December
25, 2021 -- 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.
“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.
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