World's Most Powerful Space Telescope Sets Off On A Million-Mile Voyage

The James Webb Space Telescope left Earth enclosed in its Ariane 5 rocket from the Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana at 1220 GMT,

The world's most powerful space telescope on Saturday blasted off into orbit, headed to an outpost 1.5 million kilometres (930,000 miles) from Earth, after several delays caused by technical hitches.

The James Webb Space Telescope, some three decades and billions of dollars in the making, left Earth enclosed in its Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana.

It is expected to take a month to reach its remote destination.

It is expected to beam back new clues that will help scientists understand more about the origins of the Universe and Earth-like planets beyond our solar system.