James Webb Space Telescope: How will it work? - BBC News

The BBC’s science editor Rebecca Morelle on how the observatory hopes to capture the history of our Universe.

The $10bn James Webb telescope has left Earth on its mission to show the first stars to light up the Universe.

The observatory was lifted skyward by an Ariane rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.

Its flight to orbit lasted just under half an hour, with a signal confirming a successful outcome picked up by a ground antenna at Malindi in Kenya.

Webb, named after one of the architects of the Apollo Moon landings, is the successor to the Hubble telescope.

Engineers working with the US, European and Canadian space agencies have built the new observatory to be 100 times more powerful, however.

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[whirledpeas]

A lot of people spent their entire careers putting this wonderful machine into space and I hope it works perfectly

[Zachcraftone]

This is truly a Christmas miracle, and I personally can’t wait to see what else scientific innovation will bring us.

[lordlem]

Thanks to the entire NASA team and other collaborators that made this day possible. This sort of events always proves our existential purpose and our deep connection with the universe.

[Fachri]

this telescope can see a new world from the distance, which is incredible for us, this is a history of humankind.

[TheExoplanetsChannel]

*Can't wait for the James Webb to find out whether our closest exoplanet is habitable!*

[universeofdiscovery]

This telescope will allow us to see back in time to when the Universe was young. Wonder what groundbreaking discoveries we will make.

[giokaios]

It scares me that the most difficult part of the whole thing will start on day 7, when the sun protection will have to start deployment and there are 300 critical points. There are so many things that could go wrong. I really hope everything goes smoothly there are immense sacrifices and sweat behind this project.

[EliasBac]

Please unfold smoothly and perfectly 😭

[avarmauk]

I wish this project success. I can’t wait to see the images this can produce.

[enbonj]

Thank you to everyone that has invested so much time and energy to bring this gift to humanity

[boonteetan]

A small launch for space telescope, a giant launch for mankind in space knowledge..

[sunny-sqci]

prob the coolest part of the telescope's gold layer, is there's a near 100% chance all the gold came from a supernova. it literally came back home.

[IKEMENOsakaman]

As person who saw the moon landing on TV real-time, I've never imagined that NASA AND private firms jointly pushed forward humanity's space explorations in the 21st Century.

[demonetizedhistory]

OMGGG I saw this when I was at the beach on Christmas 😍 I was at city beach, Perth, Western Australia.

[kindlyhelpmereachsbswit]

The mission of James Webb space telescope is commendable :)
Best wishes.

[y_fam_goeglyd]

I _really_ hope it works better than Hubble did on first being launched. Nobody can fix it if it goes wrong. This _has_ to work first time! I can't wait to see the first images.

[kunmwas]

I'm happy to witness this historic day ... good luck to mankind 💎💎🙏🏾

[huajieliu]

Think in this way. This time machine is a tool to test our theories. What we think about the origin of the universe. The big bang theory. The expansion of the universe. The phases of the universe development. The formation of spiral galaxies. All those theories we now take for granted will be shown a clear picture to be tested, and or corrected. How exciting to think about it.

[reecewynne]

This is a bittersweet moment for me. My last name is Hubble (don’t believe my username that’s my stepdads name). While I have loved having my last name associated with that wondrous telescope, this is a giant leap forward in engineering. 1000 years ago we were fighting with blades on horseback and now we are launching a telescope worth more than someone could fathom back then. God, what a time to be alive

[newsfromchina]

Hope this telescope will do something good for humanity and space exploration 🚀