James Webb Telescope: When Will The James Webb Telescope Launch And Why Is It Taking So Long?


After years of planning and development, NASA is finally set to launch the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The JWST will be the most powerful space telescope ever built and it will bring us incredible views of the universe. It will allow it to look back in time to see the first galaxies that formed after the Big Bang. The engineers and scientists from NASA, along with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency, worked together to design and build the most advanced space telescope ever. Read on to know more about the James Webb Telescope!

When Will the James Webb Telescope Launch?

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is set to launch no earlier than December 24. NASA will announce the official date no later than this Friday, Dec. 17. The JWST will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket, one of the world's most reliable launch vehicles available.

Webb will be launched from Arianespace's launch complex at the European Spaceport, located near Kourou, French Guiana. And then it will take roughly 30 days for the JWST to reach its destination in space (L2).

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Why is it Taking so Long?

A very ambitious project with a complex history, Webb's road to the launch pad has been a long and winding one. The ambitious telescope was initially scheduled to be launched on October 31. But, due to delays in the process of final testing and shipment and the launch was postponed to December 18. However, an "anomaly" during processing operations at the launch site and communications glitch “between the observatory and the launch vehicle system, caused further delay.

The much-delayed James Webb Space Telescope will study much farther into the universe than Hubble. Indeed, the JWST will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. The JWST will be able to see further back in time than any other telescope in history. It will be able to peer through the fog of dust and gas that surrounds the newborn galaxies, revealing the first stars and galaxies in the universe.

We're thrilled to learn about the universe's first stars and galaxies and we look forward to searching for signs of life in the atmospheres of nearby alien planets, among many other things.

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