NASA has postponed the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, which will become Hubble’s successor. The space agency stated that the launch will be one day later than the previously stipulated time, which is Christmas on December 25, from the Kuru Space Port in French Guiana, where strong winds are a major factor. The Ariane 5 rocket will be launched on Saturday to carry the next-generation space observatory. The James Webb Space Telescope, valued at US$10 billion (approximately Rs. 75,330 crore), is the largest telescope ever built and is designed to help astronomers make breakthrough discoveries. It is designed to observe the universe more deeply than the Hubble Telescope and detect earlier events-more than 13.5 billion years ago.
The Hubble Space Telescope is currently the most powerful telescope in space. It has provided astronomers with insights for 30 years, but people feel that it is aging and necessary to be replaced. Therefore, NASA and ESA, which also support the Hubble program, decided to build a larger and more powerful telescope. The main difference between James Webb and Hubble is that it can see infrared. Scientists hope to use James Webb’s advanced capabilities to study the atmospheres of distant planets in search of signs of life. NASA stated in a blog post this week that their launch date is December 25. A 32-minute launch window opened at 7:20 in the morning, it added, Eastern Standard Time (5:50 PM IST). A BBC report stated that mission controllers are considering high-altitude wind blowing in the wrong direction to avoid debris falling back to land if the launch fails. The ascent of the Ariane rocket is expected to last 27 minutes.
James Webb will be deployed in space about 1.5 million kilometers away from the Earth, and it will take a month to complete this journey. “This is an extraordinary mission…it will give us a better understanding of our universe and our place in it,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
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