The James Webb Space Telescope is due to be launched in 2015 and before that happens there is a lot to do. This awesome photograph shows the sheer scale of the project. It shows the 18 primary mirror segments which will ultimately work together as one large 21.3-foot (6.5-meter) primary mirror. They are made from beryllium which is extremely stable at cryogenic levels of temperature. Yet as it is not very reflective each of these mirrors is coated with gold. Here you can see the mirrors, made by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp in Boulder, Colorado, packing the mirrors in to special carriers for delivery to NASA.
The Webb telescope is the world's next-generation space observatory and descendant of the Hubble Space Telescope. The most potent space telescope ever constructed, the Webb telescope will deliver images of the first galaxies ever created, and discover planets around far away stars.
In the case of Hubble, they built two. One to look toward space and another one (KH-12) that looked toward Earth. I wonder if they're doing that with this unit too?
ReplyDeleteI dunno, but it is nice to see that they are made in the good old USA.
DeleteHubble gave us such unbelievable pictures - wonder how long we'll have to wait to see them from this one.
DeleteThe photos that looked down on Earth from the KH-12 were even better. Hold up your wristwatch and let them read the time.
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