High winds have temporarily stopped the launch of NASA’s sophisticated new space telescope, the latest delay for the $1bn successor to the Hubble telescope.

       The James Webb Space Telescope had previously been delayed due to issues with its communication systems and a clamp jostling the telescope, and will see its launch again postponed until this Saturday, Christmas Day, at the earliest.

       “Tomorrow evening, another weather forecast will be issued in order to confirm the date of December 25,” NASA wrote in a statement. “The Ariane 5 launch vehicle and Webb are in stable and safe conditions in the Final Assembly Building.”

       The probe is considered a replacement to the Hubble Space Telescope, which has been in operation since 1990.

       The observatory is the largest and most powerful ever built for space, and is a collaboration between NASA and the Canadian and European space programmes.

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       It uses a giant golden mirror 6.5 metres wide to funnel infrared light, invisible to the naked eye, into its variety of instruments.

       The telescope also has a sun shield the size of a tennis court to protect its delicate instruments.

       Scientists intend to use it for a range of different tasks, including studying how early galaxies were formed, mapping dark matter, and looking for alien life. The probe will be launched aboard a European Ariane 5 rocket, currently docked in South America in French Guiana.

       It was originally intended to launch as far back as 2007, but has been plagued with problems ranging from cost overruns, to more recent issues like the coronavirus pandemic.

       It has also been tied up in more terrestrial issues.

       The telescope is named for the administrator who ran NASA during its early years and efforts to put humans on the moon.

       Critics have pointed out that James Webb also served as undersecretary of state during the “Lavender Scare,” when numerous LBGTQ+ people were driven out of government service.

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       The complications don’t end once the telescope is up in space.

       Because the probe is so large, it is folded origami-style inside its launch vehicle, and will require two weeks of careful maneuvers to unfold completely.