The James Webb Space Telescope launched from Arianespace's ELA-3 complex at Kourou, French Guiana, at 12:20 UTC on 25 December 2021, Christmas Day. It was 09:20 in Kourou, and the sky holds a Capricorn Sun, a Virgo Moon and Aquarius rising, with Saturn just above the horizon.
On Christmas morning 2021, at Webb's launch, the Sun stood at 3° Capricorn in the 11th house, with Mercury, Venus and Pluto in Capricorn too. Capricorn is the sign of long effort, careful planning and mastery earned over time, and the 11th house holds hopes and shared goals. Venus and Pluto meet to the very minute, a rare exact pairing, and Mercury makes sextiles to both the Midheaven and Neptune.
Aquarius was rising at 12° when Webb launched, the sign of science, the future and ideas held in common. Saturn, the old ruler of Aquarius, sat at 11°, just above the rising degree, and Jupiter was in Aquarius as well, in the 1st house. Saturn squares Uranus in Taurus to within a tenth of a degree, so care and the urge to break new ground were both strong at once.
The Moon was at 14° Virgo in the 7th house of Webb's chart, in the sign of precision, care and getting each detail right. Neptune in Pisces trines the Midheaven in Scorpio, a wide, imaginative note at the top of the chart. Mars in Sagittarius, up in the 10th house, adds a far-reaching drive and makes a sextile to Saturn.