The James Webb Space Telescope is finally ready for space. Following the successful completion of its final tests, the machine is being prepared for shipment to its launch site.

Named after former NASA Administrator James E. Webb, who played an integral part in the Apollo program, the space telescope is a joint NASA/European Space Agency (ESA)/Canadian Space Agency (CSA) project expected to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as the world's premier science observatory.

"Webb's story is one of perseverance—a mission with contributions from thousands of scientists, engineers, and other professionals from more than 14 countries and 29 states, in nine different time zones," according to a NASA blog post. Development began in 1996, for an original launch in 2007. But a series of unfortunate events—earthquakes, a hurricane, snowstorms, blizzards, wildfires, and a global pandemic (not to mention cost overruns)—delayed the program, which is now set to take off before the end of this year.

First, the team must follow necessary steps to prepare Webb for a safe journey through the Panama Canal to its launch location in Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America.

"Since no more large-scale testing is required, Webb's clean room technicians have shifted their focus from demonstrating it can survive the harsh conditions of launch and work in orbit, to making sure it will safely arrive at the launch pad," according to NASA. Shipping preparations will be completed next month.

Following its arrival in French Guiana and a series of checkups, the observatory will be mated to its launch vehicle—an ESA Ariane 5 rocket—and rolled out to the launch pad.

"To me, launching Webb will be a significant life event," NASA's Mark Voyton, Webb observatory integration and test manager, said in a statement. "I'll be elated of course when this is successful, but it will also be a time of deep personal introspection. Twenty years of my life will all come down to that moment."

Webb will take a 26-minute ride aboard the Ariane 5, before separating from the rocket and automatically deploying its solar array—starting the month-long journey to its intended orbit, nearly 1 million miles from Earth. Scientific operations are expected to begin approximately six months after launch.