http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/instruments/guider/localNews?display_type=all http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/instruments/guider/localNews?display_type=all#HeadlineNews June 6, 2003<br /> <br /> The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) has been awarded a NASA contract for $162 million to develop and manage Science and Operations Center for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).<br /> <br /> The contract funds the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) to develop the science operations systems and the flight operations system, to support the development and commissioning of the science instruments and the observatory, to conduct outreach programs to the astronomy community and the public, and to operate JWST. The scope of the contract for JWST is substantially the same as the work that the institute has been performing for the Hubble Space Telescope.<br /> <br /> The James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to be launched in August 2011, as a successor to the highly acclaimed Hubble Space Telescope. Orbiting the L2 Sun-Earth Lagrange point, JWST's mission is to study the cosmology and structure of the universe, the origin and evolution of galaxies, the history of the Milky Way and its neighbors, the birth and evolution of stars, and the origin and evolution of planetary systems.<br /> <br /> Find out more about JWST at <a href="http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/">http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/</a> http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/instruments/guider/localNews?display_type=all#NASAselectsinstrumentandscienceteamsforNGST NASA has selected a team led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, to provide the primary near-infrared science camera (<a href="http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/instruments/nircam/">NIRCAM</a>) for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), NASA's successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. The winning primary camera team includes members from the University of Arizona; Lockheed-Martin Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto, Calif.; EMS Technologies, Ottawa, Canada; and COMDEV, Ltd., Cambridge, Canada, and will be led by Dr. Marcia Rieke of the University of Arizona.<br /> <br /> In addition to selecting the main imaging camera, NASA has chosen the U.S. portion of an international team that will construct a mid-infrared instrument (<a href="http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/instruments/miri/">MIRI</a>). The members of this team are Dr. Thomas Greene, NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.; Dr. Margaret Meixner, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; and Dr. George Rieke, University of Arizona. These scientists, lead by Dr. George Rieke, will work in collaboration with scientists and engineers led by Dr. Gene Serabyn from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the European Space Agency to enable JWST to see farther into the infrared portion of the spectrum. This capability will permit JWST to study stars forming inside dense clouds of interstellar dust that block Hubble's vision.<br /> <br /> NASA has also selected several scientists to serve, with the principal instrument scientists, on the JWST <a href="http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science/swg/">science working group</a>. This group will provide scientific guidance during the development of the telescope. The selected scientists are Dr. Heidi Hammel, Space Science Institute, Ridgefield, Conn.; Dr. Simon Lilly, ETH- Hoenggerberg, Zurich, Switzerland; Dr. Jonathan Lunine, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, Ariz.; Dr. Mark McCaughrean, Potsdam, Germany; Dr. Massimo Stiavelli, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore; and Dr. Rogier Windhorst, Arizona State University, Tempe.<br /> <br /> The full press release can be found at:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/News/Release_02-109.html">http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/News/Release_02-109.html</a><br />