The "most complex and powerful space telescope ever built" will be launched into the sky on December 25.

The James Webb Space Telescope, named after the man who was head of NASA during the 1969 moon landing, will be launching into orbit on December 25 after weather delays.

"Due to adverse weather conditions at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, the flight VA256 to launch the James Webb Space Telescope –initially scheduled for December 24– is being postponed," Arianespace, a commercial space transportation agency says in a news release.

It will launch on Christmas morning between 6:20 a.m. and 6:52 a.m. Winnipeg time if the weather allows.

"The Ariane 5 launch vehicle and Webb are in stable and safe conditions in the Final Assembly Building."

The James Webb Space Telescope is a joint project between the Canadian Space Agency, NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA). It will be able to look past clouds of dust in star-forming regions.

The Canadian Space Agency says it is "is the most complex and powerful space telescope ever built." The Canadian agency was highly involved in the telescope, developing a sensor to let the telescope point at and focus on objects of interest and the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph to study things from exoplanets to distant galaxies.

"In exchange, Canada will receive a guaranteed share of Webb's observation time, making Canadian scientists some of the first to study data collected by the most advanced space telescope ever built," the Canadian Space Agency says.