The amazing mirrors that will fly aboard NASAs James Webb Space Telescope will allow the James Webb Space Telescope to see farther away and further back in time to detect the light from the very first and most distant stars and galaxies. In this photo, an engineers crystal clear reflection is seen on the surface of one of the primary mirror segments. The image is so clear you can see an expression of concentration in the engineers face. Behind the engineer looking into the mirrors surface, the top part of the canister that the mirror was shipped in hangs from four straps. Other engineers use flashlights to inspect the mirror segment. Photo Credit and Caption: NASA/Chris Gunn

At NASAs Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in a1.3-million-cubic-foot clean room, now rests all 18 gold-coated primary mirror segments for NASAs James Webb Space Telescopethe successor to the space agencys aging Hubble Space Telescope. All four of the telescopes science instruments are being kept within walking distance of the mirrors, and nowwith four years to launchtechnicians at Goddard are ready to assemble what will become the most powerful space telescope ever built.

The Hubble Space Telescope has already rewritten the science books. Going from Hubble to the James Webb Space Telescope is like going from a biplane to the jet engine, said MarylandSenator andChairwoman of the Senate Appropriations CommitteeBarbara Mikulski at a news conference held at Goddard on Feb. 3. As Chairwoman, Ive continued to fight for funds in the federal checkbook to keep the James Webb Space Telescope mission on track, supporting jobs today and jobs tomorrow at Goddard. NASA Goddard is home to leaders in Marylands space and innovation economies, making discoveries that not only win Nobel Prizes, but create new products and jobs. The James Webb Space Telescope will keep us in the lead for astronomy for decades to come, spurring the innovation and technology that keep Americas economy rolling.

NASA engineer Ernie Wright looks on as the first six flight ready JWST primary mirror segments are prepped for final cryogenic testing at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center. Photo Credit: NASA/MSFC/David Higginbotham

With most of the major hardware now under one roof, assembly of the massive space-based observatory is expected to begin as soon as thetelescopes structure arrives at Goddard, with assembly expected to be completed in 2016. Once complete, Webbwith its69.5 ft x 46.5 ft instruments-protecting sunshield deployedwill be the size ofa Boeing 737 airplane. Hubble, in comparison, isabout the size of a large tractor-trailer truck or bus. Webbs 6.5-meter diameter primary mirror will also be bigger, much bigger. The telescope will have nearly seven times more light collecting area than Hubble, allowing for unprecedented infrared observations of distant objects from the dawn of the universe some 14 billion years ago. Its mirror and instruments will capture images of the universe and break down the spectra of incoming light to analyze the properties of galaxies, stars, and the atmospheres of planets beyond our Solar System.

The recent completion of the critical design review for Webb, and the delivery of all its instruments to Goddard, mark significant progress for this mission, said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. The design, build, delivery and testing of these components took meticulous planning and action here at Goddard and with teams across the country, as well as with our international partners. Its very exciting to see it all coming together on schedule. And I want to thank our good friend Senator Barbara Mikulski for her support. We wouldnt be here today without her championing of this critical capability for NASA. I know she understands just how important it is to continue to push the boundaries of what we can do in space.

A joint project between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Webb will have been in planning, design, and development for over 20 years when it is launched atop an Ariane-5 rocket fromArianespaces ELA-3 launch complex at the European Spaceport located near Kourou, French Guiana, in 2018.

This past year has been one of significant progress for the Webb telescope, said Goddard Director Chris Scolese. The NASA Goddard team is working tirelessly with our partners to keep the program on track as we develop this newest scientific tool to explore the universe.

The program has not been without its own share of problems and was nearly cancelled by theUnited States House of Representatives appropriations committee on Commerce, Justice, and Science in 2011, citingbillions of dollars over budget and plagued by poor management as the reasoning behind killing the program. Congress, however, reversed the cancellation plans and instead capped additional funding to complete the project at $8 billionfour times more expensive than originally proposed, with a new launch date at least seven years later than originally planned.

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James Webb Space Telescope Flight Instruments and Primary ...