ESA's Ariane 5 rocket launched NASA's James Webb space telescope into space today in cooperation with CSA. Another multi-billion dollar project that was more than a decade overdue ( not to mention the almost 10 -fold budget from the original estimate.
The telescope has plethora of technological feats that have overcome some rigorous testing over the years in preparation for the launch. Not to diminish any of them but I think folding the 6,5 meter diameter mirror consisting of 18 hexagonal gilded beryllium plates and the accompanying heat shield inside the rather limited cargo hold of the Ariane 5 rocket (not to diminish that either as it's biggest we currently have.
Once on the orbit and heading it's trajectory towards it's destination at Lagrange 2 point it will slowly and carefully unfold itself over the next two weeks. It will then take another two weeks until it reaches it's destination at 1,5 million kilometers away from earth.
When ready, the telescope should start providing us with images from the early universe. To get such old images it needs to be able to capture faintest of rays of infrared light (due to the redshift). However getting there is just the first part. We still need ro wait for half a year before it's three cameras are operational.