Space telescope launches on quest to view 1st stars

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope soared from French Guiana on South America’s northeastern coast, riding a European Ariane rocket into the Christmas morning sky. The $10 billion observatory hurtled toward its destination 1 million miles away, or more than four times beyond the moon.

It will take a month to get there and another five months before its infrared eyes are ready to start scanning the cosmos. NASA partnered with the European and Canadian space agencies to build and launch the new 7-ton telescope, with thousands of people from 29 countries working on it since the 1990s.