After many delays, NASA to launch Webb Space Telescope on Dec 24

NASA is shooting for next Friday Christmas Eve to launch its newest space telescope.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson confirmed on Friday that the James Webb Space Telescope will attempt to blast off on December 24. A European Ariane rocket will provide the lift from South America’s French Guiana.

The $10 billion Webb considered the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope was supposed to soar on Saturday, but was jolted by a clamp during launch preparations, resulting in a four-day delay. Then a bad communication link on the rocket had to be fixed, postponing the launch for another two days.

U.S. and European space officials signed off on the launch date on Friday, following one last round of testing.

Nelson expects a smaller crowd at the launch site because of the holidays. Lift off is scheduled for 7:20 a.m. EST.

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“Since it’s Christmas Eve, all the congressional delegations that were going down, all of that has evaporated,” Nelson told The Associated Press. “Even the NASA and contractor team has dwindled,” he noted, adding that he will be there.

Already years late in flying, Webb will look back to almost the beginning of time, to when the first stars and galaxies were forming, while also examining the atmospheres of planets orbiting stars closer to home. NASA is partnering with the European and Canadian space agencies on the mega project.

“There’s so much riding on this, opening up just all kinds of new understanding and revelations about the universe,” Nelson said.