Robotic Observatories & Rovers
James Webb Space Telescope
Vehicle: Ariane 5 | Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Key Mission Milestones & Event Timeline
December 25, 2021
Launch
Launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, starting a 1.5 million km trip to L2.
January 2022
Sunshield Deployment
Successfully deployed its massive 5-layer Kapton sunshield and primary mirror array in transit.
January 24, 2022
Arriving at L2
Fired thrusters to enter orbit around the second Lagrange Point (L2).
July 12, 2022
First Scientific Images
Released historic deep field images, showing gravitational lensing and early star-forming regions.