NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), and Arianespace confirmed a targeted launch date of Saturday, Dec. 25, for the James Webb Space Telescope. A 32-minute launch window opens at 7:20 a.m. EST in Kourou, French Guiana (9:20 a.m. GFT/12:20 UTC).
An Ariane 5 rocket will lift off from Europe’s Spaceport carrying NASA’s next-generation space observatory.
A mockup of Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket is seen at the entrance to the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. The James Webb Space Telescope is a large infrared telescope with a 21.3 foot (6.5 meter) primary mirror. The observatory is scheduled to launch Dec. 25 and will study every phase of cosmic history—from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
