It took two decades and $8.7 billion to build but now the James Webb Space Telescope is finally complete. Proposed in 1996, the telescope will undergo rigorous tests before being given a sunshield and attached to a spacecraft bus, in preparation for launch in Oct. 2018.
Science magazines Popular Science and Popular Mechanics as well as tech news site Engadget, have revealed that NASA had announced the completion of the James Webb Space Telescope or JWST. Senior project scientist and astrophysicist, John Mather, said that they are celebrating the fact that the JWST is finished and that they are about to prove that their telescope works.
The JWST is the largest space telescope ever constructed with a 21-foot mirror. It is twice the size of its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope. The JWST is not only bigger than the Hubble but it is also more powerful. Charles Bolden, the NASA Administrator, said that this may be the last telescope they build that is not modular.
Two decades ago, scientists began the project that would assemble the next-generation successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA and its European and Canadian counterparts, collaborated on designing and constructing the JWST. It took twenty years to build the JWST, from conception to completion. New assembly and testing facilities needed to be constructed for the project. A new composite material that retains its shape at almost absolute zero kelvin was developed for the frame of the telescope.
The mirror of the JWST is composed of 18 gold-plated hexagonal berylium mirrors. The power of the JWST allows it see the first galaxies formed after the Big Bang. The telescope can help scientists discover signs of life on other planets and learn about the origins of the universe. Its 18 gold-plated hexagonal berylium mirrors collect infrared readings. By observing in the infrared, the James Webb Space Telescope will be able to see stars that are too distant for the Hubble.
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