The world’s largest space telescope, James Webb, is launched into orbit New Spaces

The $ 9 billion observatory seeks the faint light of the first stars and galaxies, giving them a view of cosmic creation.

The world’s largest and most powerful space telescope has been launched from a rocket to see the light from the first stars and galaxies and explore the universe for signs of life.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope took off from French Guiana on the northeast coast of South America, flying the European rocket Ariane into the sky on Saturday morning.

The $ 9 billion observatory set off toward its destination 1.6 million kilometers (1 million miles) or more than four times beyond the moon. It will take him a month to get there and another five months until his infrared eyes are ready to start exploring the cosmos.

First of all, the huge mirror of the telescope and the protection of the sun must be opened; they were folded origami to fit into the nose cone of the rocket. Otherwise, the observatory will not be able to look back 13.7 billion years as predicted, within 100 billion years of the creation of the universe from the Big Bang.

“It will allow us to better understand our universe and where we are: a perpetual search for who we are, what we are,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said this week.

But he warned: “When you want a big reward, you usually have to take a big risk.”

Speaking in French Guiana, Kourou told Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo that the historic mission that “overturned astronomy” would “allow scientists to look at the early stages of our universe.”

“Scientists will also be able to study the atmospheres of the planets, and not only will they be suitable for the colonization of humans on a single day, they will also be able to determine whether these conditions are suitable for life or not.” he said.

‘Humanity Launch’

Thought to be the successor to the old Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb is named after NASA Administrator in the 1960s. NASA partnered with European and Canadian space agencies to build and launch a new 7-ton telescope, and has been working with thousands of people in 29 countries since the 1990s.

Around the world, astronomers have been eagerly waiting to see Webb finally take flight after years of setbacks. Last-minute technical errors affected the shot for almost a week, then the gust of wind pushed it into Christmas.

“We are launching for humanity this morning,” Arianespace CEO Stephane Israel said minutes before the launch. “After Webb, we’ll never see the sky the same way.”

Klaus Pontipiddan, one of the scientists involved in the Webb Project, told Al Jazeera in Baltimore, USA, that it was a “beautiful launch.”

“It was lovely to see everything go smoothly,” he said. “We expect to see the first galaxies to form in the universe nearly 13 billion years ago.”

Telescope display: Gold mirror more than 6.5 meters (21 feet) wide.

In this 2017 photo, technicians lift the James Webb Space Telescope mirror set using a crane inside a clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, USA. [Desiree Stover/NASA via AP Photo]

Protecting the observatory is a five-layer sunscreen that is essential to keep the light-gathering mirror and infrared heat sensor detectors below zero. It is 21 x 14 meters (70 x 46 feet) the size of a tennis court.

If all goes well, the sun visor will be raised and open in three days, which will take at least five days to expand and lock in place. Then the mirror segments should open like the leaves of a drop-leaf table for 12 days or more in flight.

In total, hundreds of release mechanisms must work perfectly for the telescope to be successful. “Unlike anything we’ve done before,” said Greg Robinson, NASA’s program director.