By Steve Gorman

(Reuters). -NASA’s James Webb Space Observatory was launched from South America’s Northeast Coast by rocket on Saturday. This launch opened a new era in astronomy.

The revolutionary $9 billion infrared telescope https://graphics.reuters.com/SPACE-EXPLORATION/TELESCOPE/klvyknwbrvg, described by NASA as the premiere space-science observatory of the next decade, was carried aloft inside the cargo bay of an Ariane 5 rocket that blasted off at about 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT) from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) launch base in French Guiana.

With a French countdown, the flawless Christmas Day launch was live broadcast on joint NASA-ESA Webcast. After years of delays and costly overruns, the liftoff marked the culmination of a decades-long project.

NASA commentedator James Webb said, “From the tropical rain forest, to the edge of space itself, James Webb starts a voyage back in time to the birth and origin of the universe.” The two-stage rocket vehicle with dual solid-rocket boosters roared from its launch platform into dark skies.

After an intense 27-minute journey into space, the instrument weighing 14,000 pounds was lifted from the rocket’s upper stage. The rocket is located 865 miles above Earth. It should eventually unfurl and be nearly as big as a tennis court in the following 13 days.

A live video camera attached to the rocket’s upper stages captured the Webb gently gliding away from its jettisoned position, drawing applause and cheers from the mission controller center.

Moments later, after the Webb’s sun-energy array had been deployed, flight controllers confirmed that it was operating.

The Webb telescope will continue its journey through space, traveling for another two weeks before reaching solar orbit at 1,000,000 miles away from Earth. This is four times the distance of the moon. Webb’s unique orbital track will ensure that it is always in alignment with Earth, as both the telescope and the planet circle the sun simultaneously.

Webb’s 30 year-old predecessor, Hubble Space telescope, orbits Earth from 340miles away and moves in and out its shadow each 90 minutes.

Webb, named for the man who managed NASA’s early years in 1960s, is approximately 100 times as sensitive as Hubble. It is predicted that Webb will revolutionize science and scientists’ understanding of our place within it.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson spoke in a very spiritual tone at the launch webcast via video link. He cited the Bible and described the new telescope’s ability to “capture light from the very beginning”

COSMOLOGICAL HISTORY LESSON

Webb is able to view the cosmos mostly in the infrared wavelength, which allows it see into the clouds of dust and gas that are creating stars. Hubble works primarily in optical and ultraviolet wavelengths.

Additionally, the primary mirror of this telescope, which is made up of 18 sections of hexagonal beryllium metallic coated with gold, has a greater light collecting area. This allows it to view objects from a wider distance and thus further back than Hubble.

Astronomers believe that this will allow us to see a new view of the cosmos – it is only 100 million years since the Big Bang. This theoretical flashpoint set off the expansion of our universe 13.8 billion years earlier.

Hubble’s vision reached back approximately 400 million years after the Big Bang. This is a time just before the first galaxies, which are composed of sprawling clusters made up of gases, stars and other interstellar material, took shape.

Hubble captured glimmers from “toddler”, galaxies. Webb, NASA’s Webb scientist, will capture those galaxies in more detail and even earlier, fainter “infant” ones, Eric Smith, NASA’s Webb program scientist told Reuters just hours before launch.

Apart from studying the formation of stars and galaxies early in their history, astronomers also want to investigate super-massive dark holes that are believed to be located at the center of galaxies far away.

Webb’s instruments are also ideal for searching out evidence of life-supporting atmospheres near scores of exoplanets, celestial bodies orbiting faraway stars. They can also be used to view worlds closer to Earth such as Saturn’s moon Titan and Mars.

NASA and the Canadian Space Agency lead an international collaboration to create this telescope. Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE 🙂 was the prime contractor. European contributions include the launch vehicle for Arianespace.

At a briefing after the launch, Gregory Robinson, Webb program Director for NASA, told reporters that “the world gave us this telescope and we have given it back today.”

Webb was developed at a cost of $8.8 billion, with operational expenses projected to bring its total price tag https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nasa-telescope/northrop-ceo-grilled-by-u-s-lawmakers-over-space-telescope-idUSKBN1KG2US to about $9.66 billion, far higher than planned when NASA was previously aiming for a 2011 launch.

After six months of calibration and alignment of Webb’s instruments and mirrors, astronomical operations of the telescope will be conducted from Baltimore’s Space Telescope Science Institute.

NASA will then release Webb’s first batch of images. Webb can last for up to 10 year.