How to Watch the James Webb Space Telescope Launch
The New York Times
Astronomers have been waiting eagerly for the beginning of the powerful space observatory’s mission, and on Christmas morning they may finally get their wish.
If you wake up early enough on Saturday, you’ll be greeted with a spectacle of science and engineering: the launch to orbit of the James Webb Space Telescope.
The telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and Canada’s space agency, and will be the most powerful observatory ever sent into space. Astronomers have waited decades as budgetary and technical delays have stalled the Webb’s completion and launch.
But on Christmas morning, they and the rest of humanity will come one step closer to witnessing the spacecraft begin its scientific mission. Here’s what you need to know.