Russia has launched what experts say is the biggest and most powerful space telescope ever built.

Russian scientists say the Spektr-R took off from the launch pad in Kazakhstan Monday and shortly after, began orbiting the Earth.

The builders of Spektr-R say the telescope is designed to look billions of light years back into time in an effort to unlock the mysteries of the universe.

Lead scientist Vladimir Bobyshkin says we on Earth know about just a fraction of what surrounds the planets and the sun. He says it may sound like science fiction, but that he believes we cannot possible be the only ones existing in space.

Bobyshkin says the images the telescope sends back will certainly expand the limits of human knowledge and start a revolution in astrophysics when phenomena such as black holes and dark matter can be observed.

Scientists are expected to release the first images by the end of the year.