Webb Telescope gets the star treatment in new NASA documentary

By Trevor Mogg Published June 11, 2025

The pages of Digital Trends are filled with breathtaking images of deep space captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, including the beautiful Cosmic Tornado, the gorgeous Ring Nebula, the incredible Carina Nebula, and a stunning spiral galaxy. 

The Webb telescope — the most powerful ever built — launched in 2021 and has been scanning the far reaches of space ever since. Besides beaming back amazing infrared imagery, the telescope is also helping scientists to learn more about the universe’s first stars and galaxies, the formation of numerous stars and planetary systems, and the origins of life itself, by exploring distant places with unprecedented clarity. 

To celebrate the ongoing work of the Webb telescope, NASA has just released a documentary — Cosmic Dawn — that chronicles its more than two decades of development, highlighting the telescope’s careful assembly, rigorous testing, and successful launch nearly five years ago.

Cosmic Dawn has a runtime of 96 minutes and is free to watch on YouTube. We’ve embedded it at the top of this page. 

“At NASA, we’re thrilled to share the untold story of our James Webb Space Telescope in our new film Cosmic Dawn, celebrating not just the discoveries, but the extraordinary people who made it all happen, for the benefit of humanity,” said Rebecca Sirmons, head of NASA+.

The documentary also offers viewers an inside look at the successes and setbacks experienced by the team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland — the birthplace of Webb. You’ll also get to enjoy plenty of Webb’s groundbreaking work, including remarkable images of the faint light of the first stars and galaxies that formed more than 13.5 billion years ago. The documentary also shares Webb’s findings on black holes, planets in our solar system and far beyond, and plenty of other cosmic phenomena.

“Webb was a mission that was going to be spectacular whether that was good or bad — if it failed or was successful,” said video producer Sophia Roberts, who filmed some of the happenings prior to Webb’s deployment. 

Roberts added: “It was always going to make history.”