![]() The components of Webb have traveled before the complex 15-stage journey of the mirrors is now complete. “Webb is a product of the world, with cameras from Europe and Canada, and contributions from most U.S. The 13.8-billion-year journey from the primordial material of the big bang to planets with the building blocks of life. Some of the details have changed, but the themes are the same: distant galaxies, forming stars, and planets. Now, as my youngest child applies to college, I can read the proposals that were selected for the first year of Webb science. At the time that I was first walking my children to kindergarten, I helped to write down the science goals that were used to guide the design of Webb. “I’ve worked on the Webb project since 2002, almost 20 years. I thought, ‘If I am feeling this emotional now, what will launch be like?’ ![]() “As I watched the video of the Webb telescope being loaded into the hull of the MN Colibri ship and heading out to sea, I found myself almost in tears. To hear more about the journey to French Guiana, and the anticipated-yet-still-surprisingly-emotional reaction it has imparted, here is the mission’s deputy senior project scientist, Jonathan Gardner: ![]() The launch pad is now cleared to receive Webb, which has arrived at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou and has begun preparations for its December launch. Congratulations to Arianespace on last weekend’s launch of two communications satellites into geostationary transfer orbit aboard an Ariane 5.
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