In French Guiana, the Ariane 5 launch vehicle with the latest James Webb space telescope went into space. This was reported by RIA Novosti.
The spacecraft with the telescope will begin deployment after separation from the rocket. This process will take 29 days. One of the most difficult steps will be to unfold the main mirror and heat shield. It should protect the device from solar, terrestrial and lunar radiation.
NASA expects scientists to gain access to the first data from James Webb. six months after it was launched into space. At the same time, they will become publicly available only in a year.
According to NASA employees, the launch of the space observatory has become one of the most complex missions of the agency in history. The telescope has been created with the participation of 17 countries for over 20 years. Its value exceeds ten billion dollars.
James Webb; works in the infrared range. Moreover, it is a hundred times more powerful than the Hubble. Its creators reported that it should subsequently be located in a halo orbit at the L2 Lagrange point of the Sun & mdash; Earth.
Earlier it was reported that the launch of James Webb postponed to December 25 due to unfavorable weather conditions in the area of the European spaceport in French Guiana.
