James Webb Space Telescope launched Christmas Day 2021
On December 25, 2021, NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope.
It left earth aboard the Ariane 5 launch vehicle at 07:20am EST (2021-12-25 12:20 GMT/UTC) and headed off for an orbit that would take it 1.5 million km from earth.
Webb was designed for a mission of at least five years, with a goal of 10 years. However, after a successful launch and the completion of telescope commissioning, the Webb team determined the observatory should have enough propellant to allow support of science operations in orbit for more than a 20-year science lifetime. Other factors may limit mission lifetime, such as the possibility that Webb’s hardware will degrade over time in the harsh environment of space. However, as we’ve seen with missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, spacecraft often continue operating years beyond their designed mission lifetime.
You can read the latest news about the telescope on NASA’s page dedicated to it James Webb Space Telescope – NASA Science.
James Webb Space Telescope
Designer: Derry Noyes
Artwork: James Vaughan and an image provided by NASA/Space Telescope Science Institute
The first day cancel was in the shape of the telescope, done in digital colour and black and white.