World's most powerful James Webb Space Telescope launched

The world's largest and most powerful space telescope rocketed away Saturday on a highstakes quest to behold light from the first stars and galaxies and scour the universe for hints of life.NASA's James Webb Space Telescope soared from French Guiana on South America’s northeastern coast, riding a European Ariane rocket into the Christmas morning sky. The $10 billion observatory hurtled toward its destination 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) away, or more than four times beyond the moon. It will take a month to get there and another five months before its infrared eyes are ready to start scanning the cosmos.

The launch of the telescope came amid a small window that popped up on Christmas Day after the lift-off was postponed from a day before due to dangerously high wind that could have put it off course. However, the holiday spirit seems to be pushing the telescope forward on its way to the second Lagrange point, where it will arrive in the next 30 days.Intended as a successor to the aging Hubble Space Telescope, the long-delayed James Webb is named after NASA’s administrator during the 1960s. NASA partnered with the European and Canadian space agencies to build and launch the new 7-ton telescope, with thousands of people from 29 countries working on it since the 1990s.

Around the world, astronomers had eagerly waited to see Webb finally taking flight after years of setbacks. Last-minute technical snags bumped the launch nearly a week, then gusty wind pushed it to Christmas. Inside Launch Control, there was a smattering of Santa hats. The telescope's showpiece: a gold-plated mirror more than 21 feet (6.5 meters) across.