Nasa’s Webb telescope is a joy. But it’s the private ventures that push at limits | Martin Rees

Spacefaring adventurers, living and experimenting with new technology, could potentially spawn a post-human era

After years of delay, and massive cost over-runs, the James Webb space telescope (the JWST) was launched on Christmas Day. It will need to perform complex automated operations now it's in space.

The first and most challenging is happening this week: unfurling a heat shield the size of a tennis court. After this, its 6.5-metre mirror must be assembled from 18 pieces packed within the launching rocket's nose-cone. There's much that can go wrong and astronomers will remain anxious for the several months that will elapse before all necessary manoevres and tests are completed.

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