The James Webb Space Telescope has arrived in space 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
The telescope threw on its engines for five minutes today and reached the second “Lagrange point” (L2), as announced by the US Space Agency (NASA).
“Webb, welcome home,” said NASA chief Bill Nelson. “We are one step closer to discovering the mysteries of the universe. I can’t wait to see Webb’s first new take on the universe this summer.”
The “James Webb” telescope is intended to explore the early days of the universe 13 billion years ago, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. Astronomers hope to draw conclusions about the formation of the first stars and galaxies.
An Ariane 5 rocket brought the telescope into space in December from the spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana. Named after a former director of the US Space Agency, the telescope was jointly developed by NASA, the European Space Agency ESA and the Canadian Space Agency CSA.
