The primary task now is to make sure the large telescope arrives safely at its destination, and a lot of necessary steps are involved. “We have a tremendously dedicated workforce who brought us to the finish line, and we are very excited to see that Webb is ready for launch and will soon be on that science journey.”

Robinson, Webb’s program director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has reached a major turning point on its path toward launch with the completion of final observatory integration and testing,” said Gregory L. The telescope will be shipped folded up “origami-style” to the launch site. Shipping preparations are scheduled to be completed in September. A fairly long journey lies ahead, going through the Panama Canal to French Guiana, which is on the north-eastern coast of South America. Now, after many years of design, construction and testing, JWST is ready to be shipped to the launch site. The testing was conducted at Northrop Grumman. This is a huge milestone, and now the telescope is being prepared for shipment to its launch site at Arianespace’s ELA-3 launch complex at the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

This week, NASA announced that JWST has completed its final tests. Photo Credit: NASA/Chris GunnĪlmost there! After years of delays, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST) is finally nearing its launch date. After many delays, the James Webb Space Telescope has now been fully assembled and tested.

Nasa webb telescope tests