and james webb will do that. and i talk about— and james webb will do that.irst starts. james webb will look at these planets now that are _ webb will look at these planets now that are being found around stars beyond _ that are being found around stars beyond our on, beyond the song, which _ beyond our on, beyond the song, which is _ beyond our on, beyond the song, which is in — beyond our on, beyond the song, which is in the sky. and the idea that you — which is in the sky. and the idea that you could look at the add on issues _ that you could look at the add on issues of— that you could look at the add on issues of those planets, look at the suite _ issues of those planets, look at the suite of _ issues of those planets, look at the suite of gases in those atmospheres and say, _ suite of gases in those atmospheres and say, is — suite of gases in those atmospheres and say, is that world habitable? is that the _ and say, is that world habitable? is that the kind of place where life might _ that the kind of place where life might exist? these places are too f

what's riding on that rocket with webb?t's at stake, it really is nasa's reputation, to take on a mission that is as challenging as webb and be successful. >> pelley: bill ochs and greg robinson run the program. ochs was an engineer on hubble. robinson has supervised nasa quality and performance. >> greg robinson: if you want to be bold and get the kind of science we're after, you have to make the investment. and it's going to answer two big questions for astrophysics: where did we come from, and, are we alone? and we're looking forward to getting those results. >> pelley: is webb going to work? >> robinson: yes, it's going to work. i have very high confidence. >> ochs: i am 100% confident. >> pelley: why 100% confident? >> ochs: because when i look at the testing that we have done over the years, and the type of engineering that went into it, you build a sense of confidence that, you know this is going to work. >> pelley: what are you most concerned about? >> ochs: unfolding the entire telescope is what you worry about. >>

the james webb telescope is different in so - webb telescope is different in so many ways, it is 6.5he infrared. unlike the mirrors which you have in your bathroom, which are silvery and shiny, the james webb telescope are plated in a very thin layer of gold, allowing it to reflect more heat, this infrared light, so we can see better in the infrared. it has also got much longer wavelength coverage so we can see a much longer spectrum of the stars and it is more sensitive. these two telescopes, the hubble telescope and the james webb telescope, they will be working together. i telescope, they will be working to t ether. ., . telescope, they will be working totether. ., . , ., , together. i mentioned excel planets, what will it bring _ together. i mentioned excel planets, what will it bring others _ together. i mentioned excel planets, what will it bring others in _ together. i mentioned excel planets, what will it bring others in terms - what will it bring others in terms of new information about those planets and the success of the universe? it planets and the success of the universe

but, webb will be a major upgrade.ike a night vision camera, this infrared telescope will search for heat signatures of the very first light after the big bang. >> we are looking for the of the faintest objects, if the telescope doesn't get cold then it will actually glow brighter than the objects we're looking for. >> reporter: to block the sun's heat from blinding webb, engineers designed a first of its kind sun shield, the size of a tennis court. its five layers will keep the telescope side more than 600 degrees colder than the sun- facing side. >> this material, kaptan, here is about 2 thousandths of an inch thick. >> reporter: and because the sun shield is so big, it and everything else had to fold up to fit inside the rocket. once in space, webb will carefully unfold and rebuild itself like robotic origami. project manager bill oaks. >> it is hands down the complexity of its deployment, the material it's been made of, has never been tried by a nasa mission before. >> reporter: if any one of 344 parts fail, the en

greg robinson is the webb program director.el pretty confident this telescope is not going to be flawed from the outset? >> we try to test exactly the way it's going to be used in this launch and operation environment. it's been tested well. we have margin around how we test it. so we have high confidence that it'll work just right. >> reporter: the novel design, rigorous testing, and the vagaries of nasa budget allotments led to years of delays, and cost overruns. at $10 billion, the price tag for webb is about twice as much as first proposed two decades ago. what would nasa do differently today? >> we do have to get better at cost and schedule estimating up-front with these types of missns. it's not trivial. it's-- it's quite hard. we're doing things that have never been done before. we're using new technologies, never developed or flown before. so it's-- it's more of a challenge. >> reporter: all of this ratchets up the pressure on the team. >> we have to get this right. it has to go right the first time. we can't go fix it.

it wait from them for the james webb telesco e? , ., , wait from them for the james webb telesco e? telescope? it is really the earliest galaxies. when hubble _ telescope? it is really the earliest galaxies. when hubble revealed l telescope? it is really the earliest i galaxies. when hubble revealed the universe was just filled with these faint little dots of galaxies when the first deep images were taken in the first deep images were taken in the mid—19 90s, a long time ago. and so it then became very clear that to explore these and go back right in time to the very beginning of galaxies wejust had time to the very beginning of galaxies we just had to have a big telescope like web. so it is to everyone's credit that the resources were put there, the amazing engineering teams were assembled and that people were just focus and worked on this to make this a reality. as we saw in the launch today. and absolutely amazing launch. , ., today. and absolutely amazing launch. ., ., launch. does a telescope have a lanned launch. does a telescope have a planned life _ launch. does a telescope

that is not optimal time forjames webb. _ telescope? that is not optimal time forjames webb.ission where you need to launch right at the time the planets, whatever plan if you want to go to is aligned with earth see you don't have to much time to get there. it'sjust you don't have to much time to get there. it's just whether problems with telescope in fact we slip from the 22nd two the 2ath because he had to change an electrical component on the telescope so time is not as critical. the day of lunch is not as critical. the day of lunch is not as critical with james webb as a planetary mission.— critical with james webb as a planetary mission. when you come back and talk— planetary mission. when you come back and talk to _ planetary mission. when you come back and talk to us _ planetary mission. when you come back and talk to us about _ planetary mission. when you come back and talk to us about it - planetary mission. when you come back and talk to us about it when l back and talk to us about it when it's up there? i back and talk to us about it when it's up there?— back and t

james webb telescope will be able to see j webb telescope will be able to see unprecedented images ofy universe, from galaxies to early universe, exoplanets, planets of her own solar system as well, infrared sensitivity is unprecedented, this will help astronomers to compare the faintest and earliest galaxies of the universe to today's galaxies, and this will hopefully ring us to understand how galaxies assemble and evolve over billions of years. also it will create better grass, helping us to take images of planets, like we imagine in science fiction. but to these images we can learn so much, we can learn how how the seasons, the rotation, weather, then we have to use that to idolise the atmosphere. we have to use that to idolise the atmosphere-_ we have to use that to idolise the atmosphere. thank you very much indeed for speaking _ atmosphere. thank you very much indeed for speaking us. _ atmosphere. thank you very much indeed for speaking us. -- - atmosphere. thank you very much | indeed for speaking us. -- analyse the absence _ indeed for speaking us. -- analyse the absence feel.

and that is what gets so many of us excited about james webb space telescope.pace telescope is a feat of engineering. at its heart is a 6.5m—wide mirror, made up of 18 hexagonal segments, each coated in a layer of gold. its size means it can detect the incredibly faint light coming from the most distant stars. it also has a huge sunshield — about the size of a tennis court. it's made up of five layers, each as thin as a human hair. and this protects the telescope from the heat and light of the sun. sitting a million miles away from the earth, the telescope will give us our deepest ever view of the cosmos, from seeing the birth of the very first stars and galaxies to revealing new planets in far—flung solar systems. what excites me is making discoveries, things we haven't thought about, and there's a whole history of astronomy that shows how, when we've looked at the new universe in a new way, we discover things we hadn't thought about, and there's something really exciting about doing that. so the light from the telescope - comes in down at the bottom here — yo

but webb will be a major upgrade.night vision camera, this infrared telescope will search for heat signatures of the very first light after the big bang. mike menzel is the webb's systems engineer. >> we're looking for some of the faintest objects that there are to see in the universe. in fact, we are looking for the faintest objects. if the telescope doesn't get cold, it will glow brighter than the objects they're looking for. >> reporter: to block the heat, engineers designed the first of its kind sun shield the size of a tennis court. its five layers will keep the telescope side more than 600 degrees colder than the sun-facing sign. >> this is material that makes up the layers of the sun shield. this material here is about 2/1000th of an inch thick. >> it's amazing. >> yes. >> reporter: and because that sun shield is so big, it and everything else had to fold up to fit inside the roket. once in space, webb will carefully unfold and rebuild itself like robotic origami. >> it will be two and a half weeks of high anxi

move over hubble, the james webb telescope will launch christmas morning from french guyana..a.s.a. spent $10 billion to build it. if all goes well, we could see the universe as it looked right after the big bang. how cool is that? here's cbs' mark strassmann. >> reporter: from the perch a million miles beyond earth, the james webb space telescope will glimpse the dawn of time like nothing before us. >> the universe is a 13.8 billion-year story and we're missing key paragraphs in the very first chapter. >> reporter: n.a.s.a. astrophysicist amber straughn hopes webb's discoveries will fill in the blanks. >> we hopefully will be able to see the first galaxies for the very first time.coveries will fn in blanks. >> we hop >> reporter: the gold plated mirrors will align to create one mirror, 21 feet across, six times larger than the one on the hubble space telescope. for more than three decades, hubble has given us stunning humbling views of the universe. but webb will search for heat signatures of the very first light after the big bang. >> we are looking for the faintest objects

for webb, gold reflects in infrared.ht goes from here to here to here, it goes in there and bounces off other mirrors and all treatments can see that light. >> reporter: now infrared is a form of heat. so any warmth from the sun on the earth would blind this telescope to distant starlight. the telescope can work only if it's super cold, like space itself. which we have to block out any shred of that sun by deploying a big sun shield. >> reporter: it has fire layers of material like mylar, each one the thickness of a human hair. >> reporter: so all of this is to separate the thing into a cold side from the hot side. >> correct. that cold side, minus 400 the hot side about 200 degrees fahrenheit. sunlight will never touch these mirrors as they get on orbit. >> reporter: there is another way to keep a telescope cold too. >> we send it four times further away than the moon. we're one million miles away, and with that we can kept our optics colder. >> reporter: but you haven't even heard the hardest part. this telescope is th

but webb will search for heat >> we aroking for thes.the telt cold, it will actually glow brighter than the objoro blo th, engineers designed a first of its kind sun shield, the size of a tennis court. it's five layers will keep the telescope side more than 600 degrees colder than the sun facing side. >> this material here is about 2 thousandths of an inch thick. >> reporter: once in space, webb will carefully unfold and rebuild itself like robotic origami. project manager bill oaks. >> the complexity, the deployment, the materials has never been tried by a n.a.s.a. mission before. >> reporter: if any one of 344 parts fail, the entire mission could be jeopardized. it all has to work. >> it's got to be pretty damn close to being 100% perfect for it to work. >> a million miles out, something goes wrong, no calling aaa. >> no calling tripping a. >> reporter: webb's first images six months away, worth the wait for a chance to see baby pictures of the universe. mark strassmann, cbs news, greenbelt, maryland. >> yuccas: definitely worth the wa

separation, webb space telescope. go, webb! applause.scope ever built. now its mission has finally begun and our view of the universe is about to be transformed. rebecca morelle, bbc news. tom kerss is an astronomer and author — he explains the significance of the telescope and its price tag. it started back in the 90s and it started back in the 90s and i have been following this mission for my entire professional life and as a student so it has taken a long time to get here and it is a red letter day for astronomy. yes, it is expensive but it is a highly capable platform for astronomy and it will provide astronomy and it will provide as much as ten years of absolutely cutting—edge astronomical observations. and when you look at the success of something like hubble, well, the pricetag seems a bit more reasonable. these things are worth paying for because they make a tremendous contribution to the scientific community. as astronomers have the closest you can get to time travel as we look back into the real past, catching the light that le

. >> the webb telescope currently on a trip to its new home in orbit.it is preparing for as we take a look at the year ahead in space zblanchts week mourning begins and fun plans underway for bishop des monday tutu and tur returning a gift you are receiving this holiday season, nourt alone. >>> all right. welcome, everybody most of you are expected to return at least one gift you got this year. that's sweater, pants, whatever it is. you know who you are what reverse logistics provider estimates that two out of all three of you -- almost all of you -- will make a return of some kind this holiday season. now, many of these returns are from online purchases. americans, overall, expected to send back nearly a third of online buys according to cbre supply chain research. that is three times the amount of returns expected for in-person buying now, all this unwanted stuff -- it just pileless up and the process can be environmentally unsustainable. amanda mull joining us now amanda, free return shipping which everybody out there loves has exacerbated i have to

we are an hour and a half away from the launch of the james webb telescope.ins me now. looks like you had a wallpaper stripper out. that's a very barren room. very festive and thank you for going to the trouble. i room. very festive and thank you for going to the trouble.— going to the trouble. i have cleared m mind going to the trouble. i have cleared my mind as — going to the trouble. i have cleared my mind as well, _ going to the trouble. i have cleared my mind as well, martin,. - going to the trouble. i have cleared my mind as well, martin,. my - going to the trouble. i have cleared | my mind as well, martin,. my palms are sweating, my palms are sweating. they have waited 30 years for this thing and that's how long they have been designing and building this. $10 billion. that is the price ticket on this mission and in under two hours, they are going to put it on top as a controlled explosion and you and i are going to watch it and i will probably be hiding behind a sofa at that point, looking between the cracks of my fingers are looking behind a cushion a

he has been involved in the webb project at various stages.scope as, "hubble on steroids". professor, welcome. thatjust tells us about your enthusiasm for this project. why does it mean so much to you? project. why does it mean so much to ou? �* . ., , project. why does it mean so much to ou? �* .. , ., , project. why does it mean so much to ou? �* , ., , ., 4' you? because we have been working over 30 years _ you? because we have been working over 30 years on _ you? because we have been working over 30 years on this. _ you? because we have been working over 30 years on this. and _ you? because we have been working over 30 years on this. and now - you? because we have been working over 30 years on this. and now we i over 30 years on this. and now we are at the moment we are going to launch this and have it deploy out and start in six months revealing the universe and all its glory. the hubble telescope has been amazing, but as was mentioned, this is really hubble on steroids. we will be able to do things we would have never imagined possible w

separation, webb space telescope. go, webb! applause.space telescope ever built. now its mission has finally begun and our view of the universe is about to be transformed. rebecca morelle, bbc news. i'm joined now by author and astrologer tom kerss. he joins us live from mount dora in florida. thank you forjoining us. this is pretty exciting stuff, isn't it? quite a hefty price tag, though, $9.7 billion, having started at $500 million. , , ., $9.7 billion, having started at $500 million. , , . . ~ million. yes, it started way back in the 1990s, — million. yes, it started way back in the 1990s, i — million. yes, it started way back in the 1990s, l have _ million. yes, it started way back in the 1990s, i have been _ million. yes, it started way back in the 1990s, i have been following i the 1990s, i have been following this mission my entire professional life and as a student so it has taken a long time to get here. it is a red letter day for astronomy. yes, it is expensive but it is a highly capable platform for astronomy and it is going

how do you describe what the mission of webb is?scope that nasa has ever flown. another key thing to remember is that it's also working in a new part of the electromagnetic spectrum. so hubble we'll see infrared, heat radiation. so it will open up with its profound sensitivity a whole new sort of vision or visibility into the universe that we haven't had before. so as you heard, we want to understand how the very first galaxies unfolded in the universe and track how the universe has evolved over time. we also want to be able to understand how stars are born and also, as we've learned more recently in the last two decades, there are lots of stars that have planets. we want to start studying in some detail the atmospheres of those planets so we can start to understand what kind of conditions we need to look for in order to understand planets, if they're inhabitable in the future. >> this is the largest mirror nasa has ever built. we're seeing video of it, and i love the depiction of it in your background as well. you could just reach

webb will show as that. it will be remarkable.working at vaccination centres across england today, as the push continues to give every adult a booster by the end of the month. the nhs says it expects thousands of people to receive theirjab on christmas day. vaccination centres are closed in northern ireland, scotland and wales. as ministers consider whether tougher restrictions are needed in england, the roman catholic archbishop, cardinal vincent nichols, has urged them not to close places of worship. emily unia reports. redbridge town hall in east london is one of a small number of vaccination centres in england that opened this morning, on christmas day, to help bolster the booster programme. fantastic idea to save so many lives. myjob, i am in contact with customers all the time. so i have got to keep myself safe, keep my customers safe. it is family time, the time you want to spend with your loved ones. - it is often in times like that that we get to think- through the real priorities, . and the real priorities are that you w

as the james webb space telescope blasted off. the rocket casing opened up and attend the skate was released into the darkness of space with a one million mile journey ahead. but as it travels, it has a fiendishly occult task to do. -- difficult task to do. unfolding. >> we did not have any rocket big enough to launch it fully deployed. so we had to fold it up to fit inside the rocket. this is really, really difficult engineering, but nasa has never shied away from doing fficult things. i have full confidence it will work. reporter: unfurling the sun shield is the most difficult part of this process. it is the size of a tennis court. first, its two halves are lowered into position, then booms are deployed. it involves 400 pulleys, 400 meters of cabling, and more than 100 release mechanisms that have to work at exactly the right time. finally, the five layers of the sun shield, each as thin as a human hair, separates. the whole process has been rehearsed again and again on earth, but doing this in space will be nailbiting. >> it is

webb is the culmination of that. my husband likes to say the webb is the most complexed thing that human beings have ever built. i don't know if that's true or not but it feels like it some days. pulling together something this complex and challenging is an enormous endeavor and involves a lot of work and innovation. >> there's been interest in space lately. especially some of our billionaires have left earth's orbit. richard branson and elon musk has sent up rockets and maybe going himself. what do you think about billionaires in space? >> i don't know much about billionaires. i would love to go, too. as soon as it's widely available like an airline trip, sign me up. i really want to go. >> when you think that will happen as we start moving into space exploration and has technology advances raply, when will we, as humans, be able to afford a spaceship like an airplane. >> i'm 46. i'm hope been to make that trip in my lifetime when i'm not too old and can deal with the stresses of going in space. i think i have about

>> reporter: advance the human race >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: scientists will use the sheer power of webb to zoom in on planets we could not reach before now, look inside their alien atmospheres and search for life thousands of scientists are lined up for the data. it's a miraculous gift the chance to get out beyond our planet, see itime n perhaps how all of this came to be. jake ward, nbc news, planet earth >> we will all be watching truly out of this world. >>> well, just ahead, bringing christmas to tornado-ravaged kentucky the acts of love and kindness helping this community heal and inspiring america. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom for me and you ♪ (music) ♪ so i think to myself ♪ ♪ oh what a wonderful world ♪ >>> the deadly and historic tornadoes that ripped through kentucky earlier this month put the holidays in doubt for so many families who lost everything but as joe fryer tells us in tonight's "inspiring america," there are new signs of hope for christmas >> reporter: this christmas, two weeks after a deadly tornado tore through mayfield, kentucky

. >>> the james webb space telescope will soon give us a look into space and time that nobody has ever seen before, and it will do so with the help of some technology that comes from palo alto. >> the james webb space telescope are going to rewrite your kids science books. they will teach us about the evolution of the universe. >>> new at six 6:00, advocates for the homeless here in san jose say at least five people died in one night because of the cold weather. what they are doing to try to honor all of the lives lost on the street this year. everyone needs health insurance. covered california is making sure more people can get it. new federal funding of $3 billion is available to help more californians get covered. check coveredca.com now to see your new lower price. enroll by december 31st. from one moment to the next, our kids become the most important part of our lives. that's why it's important to have health insurance. with covered california, we got a plan we could afford, with preventive care at no extra cost. enroll by december 31st. >>> the labor shortage has hurt businesses

separation, webb space telescope. go, webb! applause.telescope ever built. now its mission has finally begun and our view of the universe is about to be transformed. rebecca morelle, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: residents on the spanish island of la palma, breathe a sigh of relief as the volcanic eruption finally comes to an end after three months. the world of music's been paying tribute to george michael, who's died from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades. the united states' troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon said it's failed in its principle objective to capture noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle| was hastily taken away. m its place. — the russian flag was hoisted over what is now— no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. | day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan am's m

webb will fundamentally alter our understanding of the universe.hs before we see any images from the telescope. while the launch was successful there is a lot that could go wrong between now and then. the telescope took 30 years to develop and involves what nasa calls giant high tech origami. it was a sun shield that will eventually reach the size of a tennis court. the telescope was folded up to fit into the rocket and throughout the next few weeks will start to unfurl. it is an exciting but harrowing time during which thousands of parts and sequences all have to work correctly together almost a million miles from earth. so far everything has gone according to plan. the past few days with the successful deployment of the antenna and telescope making its first planned adjustment to its trajectory. just moments ago nasa announced more good news that it successfully completed its second planned course correction. astrophysicist joins me next to talk about the very exciting and unprecedented scientific feat. stay with us. with us as a professional bul

separation, webb space telescope. go, webb! applause.er built. now its mission has finally begun and our view of the universe is about to be transformed. rebecca morelle, bbc news. two more members of the k—pop boy band bts have tested positive for covid—19 after returning to south korea from a concert tour in the us. they had returned to south korea from a concert tour in the us. three members of the 7—member group have become infected. australian k—pop presenter and expert andy trieu told me more. the boys tested positive on returning from the us, where they had these massive concerts. the agency confirmed suga was diagnosed with covid, rm andjin, but rm and suga received their positive tests while they were in self—quarantine after arriving home and — whilejin was released from quarantine after testing negative and received a positive test later on. and how are the fans reacting, because obviously, bts are massive. well, fans have spread the internet with words of encouragement for the boys, even trending that the words �*get the hell

separation, webb space telescope. go, webb! applause.lescope ever built. now its mission has finally begun and our view of the universe is about to be transformed. rebecca morelle, bbc news. spanish officials say the volcanic eruption in the canary islands has finally come to an end after three months. no one was injured during the 85 day ordeal on the island of la palma. but the volcano destroyed properties and submerged hundreds of hectares of land, as jack surfleet reports. it was the first eruption on la palma since 1971. the cumbre vieja volcano burst into action on the 19th of september, flowing down the mountain, through villages, and spanning up to 600 metres wide. in its path were 1,300 homes, churches and schools, all of which were destroyed. rescue teams helped to relocate more than 7,000 people from their homes. many have lost almost everything they own. an exclusion zone was set up around the flow, including in the sea, where the molten rock boiled seawater, released poisonous gases and increased the size of the island. ther

. >>> james webb telescope is set to launch christmas morning. nasa spends $10 billion to build it and if everything goes okay it will give us insight into a galaxy very, very far away. >> from its perch 1 million miles beyond earth, the telescope will glimpse the dawn of time like nothing before it. >> the universe is this 13.8 billion years story. we are missing some key paragraphs in the very first chapter. >> astrophysicist amber strong hopes webb discoveries will fill in the blank. >> we will hopefully be able to see the first galaxies for the first time. >> it will align to create one giant mirror. it is 21 feet across, six times larger than the one on the hubble space telescope. for more than three decades it has given a humbling view of the universe but webb will be another upgrade. this infrared telescope will search for heat signatures of the very first light after the big bang. >> we are looking for the faintest objects. if the telescope doesn't get cold it will glow brighter than the objects we are looking for. >> engineers designed t

what will james webb be able to do that hobble? couldn't there are several things here. we're talking about telescope that's using technology. this 30 is a bombs what you have with them. looking at a much larger diameter power telescope comes from its ability to collect the light from the universe. in this case, we're talking about infrared, like the fact that we're using infrared light is another advantage for many of the things that we want to study. for instance, plants around of the sauce, a red light preferentially. so there are many advantages to the change from my understanding, we're talking essentially about going back in time. and as we had met, pe said that the james webb will be able to take a fingerprint, if you will, all of the universe. what does, what does that mean? well, we can go back in time to see in the sense that we can pick up things that are very few are what we're going to get to the very edges of the observable universe. as far as 13 are 1000000000 light years away and anything that's making a radiation at that distance from us, we should be ab

james webb begins a voyage back to the birth of the universe.nds into the flight... this is the james webb space telescope. it's a successor to hubble, but 100 times more powerful. after three decades in the making, and a cost of $10 billion, it's finally on its way. we've never attempted anything like that in space before. we're going to be entering a whole new regime of astrophysics. a new frontier. and that is what gets so many of us excited about james webb space telescope. this space telescope is a feat of engineering. at its heart is a 6.5 metre—wide mirror, made up of 18 hexagonal segments, each coated in a layer of gold. its size means it can detect the incredibly faint light coming from the most distant stars. it also has a huge sun shield, about the size of a tennis court. it's made up of five layers, each as thin as a human hair, and this protects the telescope from the heat and light of the sun. sitting a million miles away from the earth, the telescope will give us our deepest ever view of the cosmos. from seeing the birth of the ve

days after launching into orbit,it�*s the "make or break" moment for the james webb space telescope asarts to unfold its tennis court—sized sunshield. the number of daily new cases of covid—19 recorded in the uk has reached a new high. figures published in the last half hour show that there were 189,213 new positive cases recorded — although it's not clear exactly how much the figures have been affected by reporting delays over the christmas period. a further 332 covid—related deaths were also reported in the last 2a hours — that's the highest figure since march, although we should point out that the number includes a backlog of deaths in hospital. and the number of daily covid admissions to hospital in england has nearly doubled in a week to more than 2000. 0ur health correspondent jim reed explained more. we have seen what has happened in south africa where this wave of 0micron appears to be receding without a huge increase in hospitalisations and deaths. is that same pattern going to be repeated elsewhere in the uk and europe? we have a much more elderly, vulnerable population than

to peer further into the universe and its origins than we ever imagined before >> webb is on the scaleural undertaking and not just something for astronomers. >> one of its aims, to provide new insight into life on other planets. >> help us understand the possibilities, maybe the probability of potential life form although we're not looking for life form itself we're looking for the environment that will allow life to thrive. >> to reach this point has taken more than two decades, almost $2 billion and the combined brain power of thousands from 14 countries, but it's still just the beginning. >> james webb now has its array out. >> over the next few weeks, it will continue deploying its antennas, sun shields and mirrors. complicated steps to fully assemble the seven ton telescope. a process space fans will be able to follow in realtime >> now taking its first steps. >> much larger and 100 times more powerful than the hubbell telescope which launched in 1990, webb has the capability to see the infrared spectrum, allowing it to capture light raies from billions of years ago. >> it's a ti

webb think about it? i said, webb doesn't want to do it. he said, well, i think i'll have to go along with mr. webb. >> makes you realize the power behind the throne. >> at least i tried. >> yeah. so instead, you started getting ready to fly in gemini, another whole new ball game. >> yes. it was very fortunate, of course, that i was chosen to make the first gemini mission. tom stafford, who is a very bright young guy, was assigned as co-pilot. and we were already into the mission, already training for the mission. we had been in the simulators, as a matter of fact, several different times. i'm not sure whether we looked at the hardware in st. louis or not prior to the problem which i had. the problem i had was a disease called meniere's. it is due to elevated fluid pressure in the inner ear. they tell me it happens to people who are type "a," driven, whatever. unfortunately what happens is, it causes a lack of balance. it causes dizziness, in some cases nausea, as a result of all of this disorientation going on up there in the ear. fortunat

nasa's james webb telescope successfully blasted into orbit on christmas day.t. when fully operational, it should help us understand the beginnings of the universe. nbc's gadi schwartz has more. >> reporter: the most powerful space observatory ever built is headed deeper into the galaxy. following a successful launch wednesday morning, the james webb telescope is on its mission to peer into the origins of the universe. >> it's a cultural undertaking and not just something for astronomers. >> reporter: one of its aims, to provide new insights into the existence of life on other planets. >> it will help us understand possibilities and maybe even the probability of potential life forms, although we're not looking for a life form itself, we're looking for the environment that would allow life to thrive. >> reporter: to reach this point has taken $10 billion and combined brain power of thousands, from 14 countries. but it's still just at the beginning. over the next few weeks, webb will continue deploying its antennas, sun shield, and mirrors. each procedure a criti

and after the launch — it's the "make or break" moment, for the james webb space telescope — as it startsuper—sized sunshield. hello and welcome. us presidentjoe biden has again told russia's president vladamir putin that the us and its allies will "respond decisively" if russia further invades ukraine. this — during the second call between the two leaders in less than a month amid concerns over russian troops massing at the ukrainian border. a kremlin spokesperson said that putin had made it clear that any new large scale sanctions — would be a "colossal mista ke". the us released this picture of president biden on the call from his home in delaware — with the white house saying he laid out two paths — one of diplomacy and one of deterrence. both sides said the call had been constructive — further talks are set for the new year. for more on this i'm joined now by our washington correspondent gary o'donoghue. i chat between these two world leaders. what do we think that president biden is keen to emphasise on this call? well, this is the _ emphasise on this call? well, this is the second

days after launching into orbit, it's the "make or break" moment for the james webb space telescope asstarts to unfold its tennis court—sized sunshield. hello and welcome. the british socialite ghislaine maxwell has been found guilty of recruiting and trafficking young girls to be sexually abused by the late american financierjeffrey epstein. the 60—year—old was found guilty on five of the six counts she faced, including the most serious charge — that of sex trafficking a minor. maxwell faces spending the rest of her life in prison after she was found guilty by a jury in new york, but her lawyers say they are already preparing to appeal against the conviction. our north america correspondent, aleem maqbool, reports. court sketches show the moment ghislaine maxwell's victims have waited decades for. after five days of deliberation, jurors decided she was guilty on five counts linked to the sexual abuse of teenagers. and it was four of her victims who helped put her behind bars. the court heard how ghislaine maxwell gained their trust. during their emotional testimony, they told the jury

go, webb!reporter: then, from a camera mounted on the rocket, this scientific marvel edged out towards deep space on its own. and the launch team back in french guiana could finally express their relief. ( cheers and alause ) the telescope has many more maneuvers still to make over the coming weeks, as it unfurls its protective shield, and then reveals its exquisitely crafted mirror. it's more than a decade behind schedule, but its promise is immense: looking back at some of the most distant events and objects in the universe. this was the launch that may change science, astronomy, and cosmology-- a christmas gift to us all. >> hill: in his christmas day address, pope francis prayed for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, and called for vaccines for the poor, and dialogue in resolving the world's conflicts. only a few thousand people attended the annual event at st. peter's square, which normally sees tens of thousands. italy is experiencing a record-setting rise in covid-19 cases this week. th

days after launching into orbit, it's the "make or break" moment for the james webb space telescope, as it starts to unfold its tennis court—sized sunshield. a woman who gave key evidence in the trial of ghislaine maxwell has spoken publicly today, saying she hopes the guilty verdict will bring some solace to other survivors. annie farmer, the only witness to use her real name during testimony, said the case demonstrated that no—one was above the law. maxwell was found guilty yesterday by a jury in new york of grooming underage girls to be abused by her friend, jeffrey epstein. her lawyers say they will appeal against the verdict. 0ur correspondent aleem maqbool�*s report from new york contains some flashing images. good morning, america. guilty. good morning, guilty. white the downfall of the british former socialite, now— a convicted sex trafficker, has been headline news here. one of the four women brave enough to testify to put her behind bars, who was abused as a teenager, has been giving her reaction. i was not sure this day would ever come. i just feel so grateful that the jur

and after the launch it's the make or break moment for the james webb space telescope, as it starts tonfold its super—sized sun shield. hello and welcome to bbc news. us presidentjoe biden has again told russia's president vladimir putin that the us and its allies will respond decisively if russia further invades ukraine. this during the second call between the two leaders in less than a month, amid concerns over russian troops massing at the ukrainian border. a kremlin spokesperson said that putin had made it clear that any new large—scale sanctions would be a colossal mistake. our washington correspondent gary o'donoghue has the details. president biden and vladimir putin spoke for 50 minutes. and if you need any kind of indication of how serious the situation is, this is the second time in three weeks that had a call between one another to discuss the situation on the ground. we understand that the discussion was robust and serious, substantive according to the americans. joe biden lead—out two paths, according to his officials, one of diplomacy and discussion, where russia could de