On August 31, 2022, a delegation of National Science Foundation leaders, congressional dignitaries, and members of both the scientific and Native Hawaiian communities gathered near the summit of Haleakalā, Maui, Hawaii, to commemorate the inauguration of the world’s most powerful solar telescope -- The NSF’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope. It promises to reveal the Sun in ways never seen before and the images and data that will be produced by the Inouye Solar Telescope will write the next chapters of solar physics research. The inauguration put a stamp on an ambitious, multi-decade project to provide the world with its greatest solar observatory and marked the beginning of the Inouye Solar Telescope’s 50-year journey to revolutionize our understanding of the Sun, its magnetic behavior, and its influence on Earth.