NASA's James Webb Space Telescope launch delayed due to high winds, to launch on Christmas

The launch of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s newest space telescope has been delayed by at least a day due to dangerously strong wind which was scheduled on December 24, as per the Associated Press. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is set to launch on Saturday, Christmas Day, at approximately 7:20 a.m. EST. On a European Ariane rocket, the James Webb Space Telescope will ascend from French Guiana on South America's northeastern coast. The mission team will analyse the weather again on Wednesday. 

The flagship infrared telescope of NASA has been developed with the collaboration of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), as per a report from the Space Telescope Science Institute. The telescope will be prepared for science missions in the summer of 2022, after the deployment of the observatory as well as the alignment and calibration of the mirrors and sensors, the report stated.  

According to the report, the telescope will be available to the whole scientific community and will allow researchers to view galaxy development, star and planet formation, exoplanetary networks, as well as Earth's own solar system at levels never previously imaginable. 

$10bn James Webb Space Telescope scheduled for Christmas Day launch

Furthermore, the $10 billion infrared observatory will succeed the Hubble Space Telescope, which has been in orbit since 1990. The telescope, which was in the making for over 30 years, will be on its way to a docking location 1 million kilometres from Earth, The Guardian reported.  

In addition to this, during a press briefing on Tuesday, NASA officials stated that the rocket and telescope were in fine condition after a clamp that mistakenly shook the telescope at the launch site had caused a four-day delay because of the problem. These last-minute setbacks follow years of delays and expense overruns for Webb, the world's largest and most powerful research observatory, as per the Associated Press. Meanwhile, the James Webb telescope will require many more months to unroll and prepare for at least five years of operation. 

(Image: AP)