NASA sets a new date for the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope Void

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NASA and the launch company have confirmed that the long-delayed launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will continue on December 24.

The project, which began in 1989, was originally expected to deploy the instrument – which would be the largest and most powerful telescope ever launched into space – in the early 21st century.

But several problems forced delays and tripling of the original budget for the telescope with a final price of nearly $10 billion (£7.6 billion).

The Webb telescope was built in the US and moved to the launch site at Kourou in French Guiana this year with departure scheduled for December 18.

However, new problems led to two postponements.

“The James Webb Space Telescope has been confirmed for a target launch date of December 24,” launch company Arianespace said, adding that it will go ahead at 12:20 GMT that day.

To confirm the launch date, NASA tweeted that the telescope was “encapsulated inside the chassis of the @Ariane5 rocket.”

It follows in the footsteps of the legendary Hubble telescope but will be far from the Sun. It will hopefully reveal how the universe looked closer to its birth nearly 14 billion years ago.

The new telescope is named after the late James Webb, who ran the fledgling space agency NASA for most of the 1960s.

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