Watch the Launch

Watch the Launch

Additional Media

James Webb Space Telescope Launch — Official NASA Broadcast

Watch the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope—the most powerful space telescope ever made. This mission launched at 7:20 a.m. EST (12:20 UTC), Dec. 25, 2021, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe...

Flight VA256 – James Webb Space Telescope | Ariane 5 Launch | Arianespace

Summary: 00:00:00 Start of the livestream 00:03:21 Launch status update 00:05:23 Good Luck Webb 00:06:04 Launcher’s roll-out 00:07:02 JWST basic facts 00:11:12 JWST science goals 00:17:44 JWST challen...

James Webb Space Telescope

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), developed in partnership with ESA and CSA, is operated by AURA's Space Telescope Science Institute.

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Sun-Earth L2
Mission: Astrophysics

Sun-Earth L2 Ariane Launch Area 3 Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

The James Webb Space Telescope is a space telescope developed by NASA, ESA and CSA to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA's flagship astrophysics mission. Its primary mirror, the Optical Telescope Element, is composed of 18 hexagonal mirror segments which combine to create a 6.5 m diameter mirror, considerably larger than Hubble's 2.4 m mirror. This will allow JWST to provide improved infrared resolution and sensitivity over Hubble, and will enable a broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology, including observing some of the most distant events and objects in the universe, such as the formation of the first galaxies.

Updates

SwGustav • Dec. 25, 2021, 12:58 p.m.

Successful launch confirmed


SwGustav • Dec. 21, 2021, 9:37 p.m.

Delaying by 24 hours due to adverse weather forecast


Jay • Dec. 17, 2021, 10:18 p.m.

Go for launch.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 15, 2021, 12:25 a.m.

New NET date.


Cosmic_Penguin • Nov. 25, 2021, 12:56 a.m.

New launch date confirmed after additional spacecraft testing.


Ariane 5 ECA+

Family:
Configuration: ECA+

Ariane 5 ECA+ is a variant of the Ariane 5 heavy-lift vehicle, with a taller ECA-D upper stage.

Specifications
  • Max Stage
    2
  • Length
    57.7 m
  • Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Launch Mass
    780.0 T
  • Thrust
    11400.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Ariane 5 ECA+
  • Family
    ―
  • Variant
    ECA+
  • Alias
    ―
  • Full Name
    Ariane 5 ECA+
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    ―
  • Low Earth Orbit
    ―
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    10200.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
    ―
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    ―

ArianeGroup

ArianeGroup

(AG)

CEO: Christophe Bruneau Founded: 2015 Successes: 0 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

ArianeGroup (formerly Airbus Safran Launchers) is an aerospace company based in France. A joint venture between Airbus and Safran, the company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux. It consists of three core arms: aerospace, defence and security.

INFO WIKI
ESA

Ghostly Cat’s Head Nebula lurks within sight of Hubble and Webb

The NASA/ESA Hubble and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescopes recently stared at an eerie star-forming scene within the Carina Nebula, a massive gas and dust cloud located approximately 7500 light-years away from Earth. The two tele…

NASA

Ghostly Cat’s Head Nebula Lurks Within Sight of NASA’s Hubble, Webb

Like a spectral form rising out of a cold mist, NASA’s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes have captured a hauntingly dynamic star-forming scene. It lies within the vast Carina Nebula, a diffuse star-forming region located about 7,500 l…

NASA

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Captures Eerie Cat’s Head

Intricate structures within the Cat’s Head Nebula are illuminated in this mid-infrared view from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope released on Oct. 29, 2026. The distinctive “cat’s head” shape of the nebula was likely sculpted over time by…

NASA

Webb Sees Turbulent Star Nursery

In this Webb image released on Oct. 22, 2026, we see a turbulent cauldron of star formation filled with dense clumps of gas. This region is named N159 and is located 161,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the satell…

ESA

Stars brewing in a nebulous cauldron

From the ESA Blogs.

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Ariane Launch Area 3


Falcon 9
Success
13 hours, 1 minute ago
USSF-432
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bu…


Ceres-2
Success
14 hours, 12 minutes ago
4 satellites
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Share-ride of 4 commercial Earth observation and technology demonstration satellites to SSO, details TBD.


Long March 2C
Success
1 day, 21 hours ago
Yaogan 51-07 to 09
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.


Kinetica 2
Success
4 days, 13 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #17
Launch Area 140 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Electron
Success
4 days, 21 hours ago
The Sea God Surveys (iQPS Launch 9)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 15-18
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


GSLV Mk II
Success
1 week ago
IRNSS-1L (NVS-03)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

This is a replacement satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. The constellation will provide India with an alternative to GPS …


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Starlink Group 15-16
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 8A
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
SatNet LEO Group 28
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks ago
Starlink Group 15-15
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.