It’s a golden age for space discovery, but don’t expect a mass exodus yet Martin Rees

fter years of delay and massive cost over runs, Nasa’s James Webb space telescope (the JWST) was launched on 25 December. It will need to perform complex automated operations now it’s in space. The first and most challenging was due to happen this week: unfurling a heat shield the size of a tennis court. After this, its 6.5-metre mirror must be assembled from 18 pieces packed within the launching rocket’s nose-cone. There’s much that can go wrong and astronomers will remain anxious for the several months that will elapse before all necessary manoeuvres