California Dec 26 : The NASA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), most powerful and complex space observatory ever built, blasted off into space on Christmas, after decades of wait.<\/p>\n
JWST, also called Webb, was launched atop an Ariane 5 rocket on Saturday, December 25, at 7:20 am EST (5:50 pm IST).<\/p>\n
It lifted off into space from Arianespace’s ELA-3 launch complex at the European Spaceport located near Kourou, French Guiana, South America.
\nWebb is a large, space-based, infrared observatory, and a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. Development of the $10 billion telescope began in 1996. The infrared telescope is the largest space observatory ever built, and the first of its kind.<\/p>\n
It is 100 times more powerful than Hubble, and has been folded origami-style to fit in the rocket atop which it was launched. Webb will unfold like a “Transformer” in space, NASA said on its website.<\/p>\n
After launch, Webb will deploy on its 30-day, million-mile journey out to the second Lagrange point (L2). Webb will not be in orbit around Earth, like the Hubble Space Telescope, but will actually orbit the Sun. The telescope will orbit Earth’s star, 1.5 million kilometers, or 1 million miles away from our planet, at L2. This orbit is special because it lets the telescope stay in line with Earth as it moves around the Sun. As a result, the satellite’s large sunshield will be able to protect the telescope from the light and heat of the Sun, Earth, and Moon.<\/p>\n
Webb will have two sides: the hot side and the cold side. The hot side, which is equipped with the solar panel and communications antenna, will operate at a temperature of 185 degree Fahrenheit, or 85 degree Celsius. The cold side, which has the science instruments, detectors, and mirrors, will have a temperature of -388 degree Fahrenheit or -233 degree Celsius.<\/p>\n