Due to the lapse in federal government funding, NASA is not updating this website.

Suggested Searches

 

1 min read

Ariane 5 Rocket Launch of the JWST Mission

A rocket with two boosters appears very distant in the sky toward the top. The rocket pierces thick clouds, which appear orange where its boosters have recently ignited fuel. That ignition forms a bright orange triangle, which fades to shades of gray, or clouds of exhaust, at the bottom.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launched Dec. 25 at 7:20 a.m. EST on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America. Webb, a partnership with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, will explore every phase of cosmic history – from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe.

  • Release Date
    December 25, 2021
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Telescope Launches to See First Galaxies, Distant Worlds
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, Bill Ingalls (NASA)

Downloads

  • Full Res, 3577 × 4000
    jpg (940.91 KB)
  • Full Res, 3577 × 4000
    png (5.93 MB)

Related Images & Videos

View of the metallic bottom of the folded James Webb Space Telescope at top left with Earth in the background at top right.

JWST Launch: Last View of the Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope is now safely in space.

View of the bottom of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, with one solar panel extended to the bottom left. Earth, seen in a washed-out white, is at top right.

JWST with Solar Panel Deployed

JWST with its solar panel deployed, shortly after release from the Ariane 5 launch vehicle.

Photo of Ariane 5 rocket carrying Webb telescope launching into a cloudy sky.

James Webb Space Telescope Launch Highlights

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launched at 7:20 a.m. EST on December 25, 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America. A camera fixed on the launch vehicle’s upper stage captured Webb’s separation from the launch vehicle at 7:47 a.m. EST....

Share

Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, Bill Ingalls (NASA)

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

Space Telescope

Science Overview

Webb Observatory

Webb Image Galleries