NASA has released a trailer for the upcoming launch of James Webb Space Telescope, a new space-based observatory that will be the most powerful space telescope in the world. Set for launch on Christmas Day, James Webb will be the successor to the beloved Hubble Space Telescope and will allow astronomers to look further into the darkness of the room than before.
Telescopes like James Webb were launched into the room so they did not need to look through water in the Earth’s atmosphere to observe objects in space, which allowed them to see further and more detail. James Webb is packed with scientific instruments such as spectographs and infrared cameras that will allow it to imagine a picture star and to learn other objects such as black holes and exoplanets (through NASA).
Even though it continued to capture a picture of a beautiful room, the Hubble telescope is now over 30 years old and the hardware starts to fail. NASA will keep Hubble running as long as possible, but the agency also requires a newer and more advanced telescope to do more complex science. That’s where James Webb is in.
Built through international cooperation between NASA, European space agencies, and Canadian Space Agency, James Webb has long come and has been hit with many, many delays during their development. But now it is ready to be launched, regulated to blow up on Christmas Day, December 25, 2021, from European space in Kourou, French Guiana, which is on the northeastern coast of South America.
The launch will use Rocket Ariane 5 to carry a telescope to orbit. To be in accordance with the telescope in the rocket, the parts must be folded, including a large-scale sunshield. The Sunshield Observatory has a design like origami, so it can fold small to fit the rocket and then use after the telescope is in orbit. The public was invited to watch the event at NASA TV starting at 6am ET on December 25.
To celebrate this interesting launch, NASA’s video trailer uses inspiring words from famous Carl Sagan astronomers along with the footage of James Webb being built and images of some of the space phenomena to be learned. In Sagan’s great words, “If we crave several cosmic goals, then let’s find a decent destination.”