ChronoFive
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Setting the scene
By 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) had been in development for 26 years, facing delays and cost overruns that ballooned from $500 million to $10 billion. The telescope, a collaboration of NASA, ESA, and CSA, was designed to succeed Hubble, with a 21-foot gold-coated mirror and instruments to observe infrared light from the early universe. JWST launched on December 25, 2021, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, and traveled to the L2 Lagrange point 1 million miles from Earth, unfolding its sunshield and mirror in a complex sequence.
What happened
On July 12, 2022, President Joe Biden revealed the first image at the White House—a deep field showing thousands of galaxies, the deepest infrared image ever taken. The full set of five images was released the next day: the Carina Nebula's star-forming regions, the Southern Ring Nebula, Stephan's Quintet of galaxies, and the spectrum of exoplanet WASP-96b showing water vapor. The images demonstrated JWST's unprecedented sensitivity, revealing galaxies formed 13 billion years ago, just 300 million years after the Big Bang.
Why it still matters
JWST's first images revolutionized astronomy, showing the telescope worked perfectly and exceeded expectations. The images captured public imagination like Hubble's had in 1990, demonstrating the universe's beauty and scale. JWST has since discovered the earliest galaxies, studied exoplanet atmospheres, and observed star formation in unprecedented detail. The telescope, designed for a 10-year mission, has enough fuel for 20 years. Its success validated the investment and restored confidence in large space science missions after years of delays. JWST is now the premier observatory for studying the early universe and the search for life beyond Earth.
Background
Webb observes primarily in infrared to study early cosmic history.