What delayed the James Webb Space Telescope?

July 2011 Threat of cancellation

US politicians threatened to pull the funding, but it was saved in November 2011.

27 March 2018 Spacecraft issues

Launch was delayed until March 2020 due to technical issues with the spacecraft.

27 June 2018 Review board delay

After recommendation from an independent review board, launch was moved to March 2021.

16 July 2020 Coronavirus

Launch was put back to October 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

1 June 2021 Rocket problems

November 2021 became the new launch date after issues with the Ariane 5 launch vehicle.

8 September 2021 Launch date set

The date was set for 18 December 2021 after a joint statement from NASA, the European Space Agency and Arianespace.