Over about the next two weeks, NASA will provide broadcast coverage, media briefings, and other updates on major deployment milestones for the James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s largest and most powerful space science telescope.

Video: 00:03:04

This real-time video shows the separation of the James Webb Space Telescope from the Ariane 5 launch vehicle and the subsequent solar array deployment.

Webb’s launch on an ESA-provided Ariane 5 rocket was performed by Arianespace on behalf of ESA from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, at 12:20:07 GMT (13:20:07 CET) on 25 December 2021.

Webb separation from the Ariane 5 occurred at 12:47:14 GMT (13:47:14 CET) with solar array deployment starting 69 seconds later.

Thanks to Ariane 5’s highly precise launch trajectory Webb’s solar array was able to deploy soon after separation from the Ariane 5, capturing sunlight to

Firefly Aerospace is pausing preparations for its next Alpha launch, originally scheduled for early 2022, after the government asked its largest shareholder to divest its stake for national security reasons.

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