This Christmas, NASA brings an extraordinary gift for astronomers and skywatchers. On December 25, 07:20 am EST, (5.50 pm IST), the space agency’s largest and most powerful space science telescope will launch from French Guiana. ✅ Rollout complete! The James Webb Space Telescope and the @ariane5 rocket it’s riding on are all settled in their final position on Earth. Next step: launch on Dec. 25 at 7:20 am ET (12:20 UTC) to #UnfoldTheUniverse: 📸: NASA/Bill Ingalls pic.twitter.com/kkk4JDd5tu — NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) December 23, 2021 It carries four main scientific instruments and will “hunt for the unobserved formation of the first galaxies, as well as to look inside dust clouds where stars and planetary systems are forming today,” according to NASA. The liftoff scheduled for December 22 was postponed to December 24 due to difficulties in electronic communications between the launch vehicle and its payload. It was further delayed until Christmas Day due to poor weather conditions at the launch site. The telescope will help answer our questions about: First light, Assembly of galaxies, Birth of stars and protoplanetary systems and Planetary systems, and the origin of life. James Webb Space Telescope launch: Here's how to watch You can watch the lift-off online on NASA TV. Sign up at NASA to become a Webb Launch virtual guest and access curated resources. The space agency will mail virtual guests a stamp for their virtual guest passports. We will also be live-blogging the event at indianexpress.com. In the meantime, click here to read our explainer on the differences between Webb and Hubble telescopes. Also, catch our interviews with Dr. Knicole Colón, James Webb Space Telescope Deputy Project Scientist for Exoplanet Science, and Anisa Jamil, Electrical Power Systems Engineer – NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
