The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the largest and most powerful space telescope in existence. NASA’s infrared space observatory was launched on December 25, 2021, from ESA’s Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana at 7:20 a.m. ET (12:20 p.m. GMT; 9:20 a.m. local time in Kourou) aboard an Arianespace Ariane 5 launch vehicle. The $10 billion James Webb Telescope will explore the cosmos to uncover the history of the universe, from the Big Bang to the formation of exoplanets and beyond.