James Webb Space Telescope

Extracted Attributes

• COSPAR ID

  2021-130A

• SATCAT No.

  50463

• Total Cost

  US$10 billion

• Mission Type

  Astronomy

• Original Name

  Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST)

• Orbit Location

  Solar orbit near Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 mi) from Earth

• Sunshield Layers

  5 layers

• Light-Collecting Area

  Approximately 25 square meters (270 sq ft)

• Operating Temperature

  Below 50 K (-223 °C; -370 °F)

• Primary Mirror Diameter

  6.5 meters (21 ft)

• Primary Mirror Material

  Gold-plated beryllium

• Number of Mirror Segments

  18 hexagonal segments

• Observation Wavelength Range

  Long-wavelength visible light (red) through mid-infrared (0.6–28.5 µm)

Timeline

• Initial designs for the telescope, then named the Next Generation Space Telescope, began. (Source: summary, wikipedia)

  1996

• Two concept studies were commissioned for a potential launch in 2007 with a US$1 billion budget. (Source: wikipedia)

  1999

• The Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) was renamed the James Webb Space Telescope. (Source: web_search_results)

  2002-09

• A major redesign of the program was carried out. (Source: wikipedia)

  2005

• Construction of the telescope was completed. (Source: summary, wikipedia)

  2016

• The James Webb Space Telescope emerged from Chamber A at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. (Source: web_search_results)

  2017-12-01

• The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. (Source: summary, wikipedia)

  2021-12-25

• The telescope arrived at its destination, a solar orbit near the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point. (Source: summary, wikipedia)

  2022-01

• The telescope's first image was released to the public. (Source: summary, wikipedia)

  2022-07-11

James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope. This enables investigations across many fields of astronomy and cosmology, such as observation of the first stars and the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets. Although the Webb's mirror diameter is 2.7 times larger than that of the Hubble Space Telescope, it only produces images of comparable resolution because it observes in the infrared spectrum, of longer wavelength than the Hubble's visible spectrum. The longer the wavelength the telescope is designed to observe, the larger the information-gathering surface (mirrors in the infrared spectrum or antenna area in the millimeter and radio ranges) required for the same resolution. The Webb was launched on 25 December 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. In January 2022 it arrived at its destination, a solar orbit near the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 mi) from Earth. The telescope's first image was released to the public on 11 July 2022. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) led Webb's design and development and partnered with two main agencies: the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland managed telescope development, while the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore on the Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University operates Webb. The primary contractor for the project was Northrop Grumman. The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Webb's primary mirror consists of 18 hexagonal mirror segments made of gold-plated beryllium, which together create a 6.5-meter-diameter (21 ft) mirror, compared with Hubble's 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in). This gives Webb a light-collecting area of about 25 m2 (270 sq ft), about six times that of Hubble. Unlike Hubble, which observes in the near ultraviolet and visible (0.1 to 0.8 μm), and near infrared (0.8–2.5 μm) spectra, Webb observes a lower frequency range, from long-wavelength visible light (red) through mid-infrared (0.6–28.5 μm). The telescope must be kept extremely cold, below 50 K (−223 °C; −370 °F), so that the infrared radiation emitted by the telescope itself does not interfere with the collected light. Its five-layer sunshield protects it from warming by the Sun, Earth, and Moon. Initial designs for the telescope, then named the Next Generation Space Telescope, began in 1996. Two concept studies were commissioned in 1999, for a potential launch in 2007 and a US$1 billion budget. The program was plagued with enormous cost overruns and delays. A major redesign was carried out in 2005, with construction completed in 2016, followed by years of exhaustive testing, at a total cost of US$10 billion.

Web Search Results

• James Webb Space Telescope

  The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope.( This enables investigations across many fields of astronomy and cosmology, such as observation of the first stars and the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric characterization of [...] From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia NASA/ESA/CSA space telescope launched in 2021 James Webb Space TelescopeImage 4 Rendering of the fully deployed James Webb Space Telescope Names Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST; 1996–2002) Mission typeAstronomy OperatorSTScI (NASA)( / ESA / CSA COSPAR ID2021-130AImage 5: Edit this at Wikidata SATCAT no.50463Image 6: Edit this at Wikidata Websitejwst.nasa.gov [...] The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.

• The Mission - James Webb Space Telescope

  Skip to main content # The Mission # James Webb Telescope Overview The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST or Webb) is a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror. The telescope was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in December 2021. [...] The Webb telescope will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System. [...] Webb is an international collaboration between NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is managing the development effort. The main industrial partner is Northrop Grumman; the Space Telescope Science Institute will operate Webb after launch.

• James Webb Space Telescope

  The James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) Program will produce an astronomical observatory capable of watching the universe light up after the Big Bang. It will revolutionize humankind's understanding of the Cosmos and our place in it. This observatory is key for meeting NASA's strategic objective to discover how the universe works, explore how it began and evolved, and search for life on planets around other stars. Webb is NASA's new telescope that will allow us to explore deeper into space and [...] The James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) Program will produce an astronomical observatory capable of watching the universe light up after the Big Bang. It will revolutionize humankind's understanding of the Cosmos and our place in it. This observatory is key for meeting NASA's strategic objective to discover how the universe works, explore how it began and evolved, and search for life on planets around other stars. Webb is NASA's new telescope that will allow us to explore deeper into space and [...] Within NASA, the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) Program is the principal contributor to the goal. Space Communications and Navigation also contributes to the goal.

• Mission Overview

  The James Webb Space Telescope is named after NASA’s second administrator, James E. Webb, who headed the agency from February 1961 to October 1968 and directed the Apollo programme. [...] Webb is designed and built to offer scientists the capabilities needed to push the frontiers of knowledge of our own Solar System, of the formation of stars and planets including planets outside our Solar System (exoplanets), and of how galaxies are created and evolve, in ways never before possible. Webb will observe the Universe at wavelengths longer than visible light, namely in the near-infrared and mid-infrared. Its data will be made available to the scientific community worldwide. [...] Subscribe to Webb News Page saved successfully Couldn't save page :( Please try again. # Mission Overview The James Webb Space Telescope will be the next great space science observatory, designed to answer outstanding questions about the Universe and to make breakthrough discoveries in all fields of astronomy. It is a once-in-a-generation mission.

• Overview - NASA Science

  NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, or Webb, emerged from Chamber A at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Dec. 1, 2017. NASA/Chris Gunn ## Webb is a Time Machine With unprecedented infrared sensitivity, it will peer back in time over 13.5 billion years to see the first galaxies born after the Big Bang. ## Webb is the largest telescope ever placed in space. 100 times more powerful than Hubble. [...] Webb was formerly known as the “Next Generation Space Telescope” (NGST); it was renamed in Sept. 2002 after a former NASA administrator. Many believe that James E. Webb, who ran the fledgling NASA space agency from February 1961 to October 1968, did more for science than perhaps any other government official and that it is only fitting that the Next Generation Space Telescope would be named after him. Learn More about Who Is James Webb? ## Innovative Technologies

• Image

  

• Instance Of

  Q148578

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope which conducts infrared astronomy. As the largest optical telescope in space, its high resolution and sensitivity allow it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope. This will enable investigations across many fields of astronomy and cosmology, such as observation of the first stars, the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) led JWST's design and development and partnered with two main agencies: the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland managed telescope development, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore on the Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University operates JWST, and the prime contractor was Northrop Grumman. The after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on 25 December 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, and arrived at the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point in January 2022. The first JWST image was released to the public via a press conference on 11 July 2022. JWST's primary mirror consists of 18 hexagonal mirror segments made of gold-plated beryllium, which combined create a 6.5-meter-diameter (21 ft) mirror, compared with Hubble's 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in). This gives JWST a light-collecting area of about 25 square meters, about six times that of Hubble. Unlike Hubble, which observes in the near ultraviolet and visible (0.1 to 0.8 μm), and near infrared (0.8–2.5 μm) spectra, JWST observes in a lower frequency range, from long-wavelength visible light (red) through mid-infrared (0.6–28.3 μm). The telescope must be kept extremely cold, below 50 K (−223 °C; −370 °F), such that the infrared light emitted by the telescope itself does not interfere with the collected light. It is deployed in a solar orbit near the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 mi) from Earth, where its five-layer sunshield protects it from warming by the Sun, Earth, and Moon. Initial designs for the telescope, then named the Next Generation Space Telescope, . Two concept studies were commissioned in 1999, for a potential launch in 2007 and a US$1 billion budget. The program was plagued with enormous cost overruns and delays; a major redesign in 2005 led to the current approach, with construction completed in 2016 at a total cost of US$10 billion. The high-stakes nature of the launch and the telescope's complexity were remarked upon by the media, scientists, and engineers.