The Mission
When launched early in the next decade, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will peer into the past and image galaxies and clusters of galaxies at greater distances than ever before.  For the first time, scientists will be able to observe the formation of the first stars and galaxies in the universe billions of years ago. JWST will also shed light on the size and shape of the universe.

Identified by the National Research Council as this decade?s top priority for astronomy and astrophysics, JWST is a key program in the nation?s Vision for Space Exploration.

JWST will use its unprecedented near- and mid-infrared sensitivity and resolution to discover and study dusty disks around solar systems like our own, analyze the molecular composition of extrasolar planet atmospheres, and directly image Jupiter-size planets orbiting nearby stars.

During its mission, JWST will address the questions ?How did we get here?? and ?Are we alone?? by exploring the mysterious epoch when the first luminous objects in the universe came into being.

The Design
To observe objects at such great distances?billions of light years away?the JWST must be large enough to gather very faint light and cold enough to observe light in the infrared wavelengths received from these objects.

The powerful observatory?s design features a 6.5-meter aperture primary mirror, comprised of 18 hexagonal-shaped segments. The large-sized mirror, which could fit seven Hubble Space Telescope mirrors within its surface area, gives it the light-collecting sensitivity to see objects 400 times fainter than those currently observed by ground- and space-based telescopes.

The telescope?s five-layer sunshield, nearly the size of a tennis court, will shield the telescope from sunlight and keep it at a cold temperature of approximately -370°F. The extreme cold enables JWST to see light in infrared wavelengths, allowing it to detect very distant objects and light through dense, dusty clouds where star and planet formation take place.

To fit inside the launch vehicle, the large JWST mirror must be folded in sections for launch, then unfolded (deployed) precisely into place after launch, making it the first segmented optical system deployed in space. Once in space, the sunshield that was folded over the optics during launch will deploy to its full size and keep the telescope shadowed from the sun.

Instruments located behind the mirror will record stellar images and spectra.  These instruments include a Near-Infrared Camera, a Near-Infrared Spectrograph, a Fine Guidance Sensor with Tunable Filter Module, and a Mid-Infrared Instrument.

JWST will take its place in space approximately 940,000 miles beyond Earth?s orbit (nearly four times the distance from the Earth to the moon), where the temperature is very stable. Approximately six months after launch, JWST will begin performing its science mission.
 
The Team 
NASA leads an international partnership that includes the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.  ITT integrates and tests the optical telescope, and Alliant Techsystems provides the telescope's composit structures.  NASA?s Goddard Space Flight Center is managing the JWST project, and the Space Telescope Science Institute is responsible for JWST science and mission operations, as well as ground station development.

In 2002, NASA selected Northrop Grumman Space Technology (NGST) as prime contractor to develop the James Webb Space Telescope. NGST leads a team that has vast experience developing space-based observatories:
Ball Aerospace?provides the telescope?s optical design and mirrors, and the wavefront sensing and control design and algorithms.

Customer:  NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Planned Launch Date:  2013
Launch Vehicle:  Ariane 5

Technical Characteristics:

 Instruments

• Near-Infrared Camera, University of Arizona
• Near-Infrared Spectrograph, European Space Agency (ESA)
• Mid-Infrared Instrument, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), ESA
• Fine Guidance Sensor with Tunable Filter Module, Canadian Space Agency (CSA)