The launch of the James Web Space Telescope was confirmed on December 24

Paris | NASA and Arianespace on Saturday confirmed the repeatedly postponed launch date for the James Web Space Telescope (JWST) by the Ariane 5 rocket on December 24th.

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“The James Web Space Telescope has been confirmed for a target launch date of December 24 at 9:20 a.m. Kauro time,” ArianeSpace tweeted.

Ultra-Complex Engineering Gem, the largest and most powerful JWST launched into space. It was built in the United States under the auspices of NASA and has equipment from the European (ESA) and Canadian (CSA) space agencies.

Its launch from Kaurao Base, which arrived from California in October, was twice postponed due to minor issues. NASA and Arianespace wanted to exclude any risk associated with the launch of the device, which had been developed over 20 years at a cost of nearly ten billion dollars.

NASA and Arianespace’s joint teams “successfully orbit the Observatory on the Ariane 5 rocket”, NASA confirms the launch date. The telescope, already on top of the rocket, was placed in its cap.

NASA says a general launch review will take place on December 21, and that the rocket will be brought to the launch pad on December 22 if all is ready.

Presented as the successor to the Hubble Telescope launched in 1990, the JWST must explore all stages of the cosmos with unparalleled accuracy, from the earliest ages of the universe to the formation of the first galaxies.

It is placed in orbit around the Sun at a distance of 1.5 million kilometers from the Earth.