James Webb space telescope mission gets ready for Christmas Eve launch
by Ian Sample Science editor from on (#5T7EW)
After many delays, Hubble's successor is set to travel to a cosmic parking spot 1m miles from Earth
Final preparations are under way for the launch of the James Webb space telescope, a landmark observatory built to peer back through space and time to the first stars and galaxies that lit up the universe.
Regarded as the successor to Nasa's Hubble space telescope, the mission is scheduled to blast off at 12.20pm UK time on Christmas Eve onboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. More than 30 years in the making, the telescope is bound for a parking spot in space 1m miles from Earth.
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