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This image shows the James Webb Space Telescope as it will be built by Northrop Grumman Space Technology for NASA, ESA, and CSA. JWST development is led by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The observatory has been named after NASA's second administrator, best known for his leadership of the Apollo missions. NASA Approves Webb Telescope Project for Development and Launch
On July 10, 2008, NASA formally approved the JWST project to move into its implementation phase. This decision followed a successful Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in March 2008 and a Non-Advocate Review in April. While all the science instruments and the "long lead" items like the primary mirror segments are already being manufactured, this approval marks the transition of the program into "Phase C" (Final Design and Fabrication). Phase D covers system assembly, integration and testing and launch. Since portions of this work occur while other subsystems are still in fabrication, NASA aficionados refer to this entire period as Phase C/D. Operations (Phase E: the fun part!) begins after instrument checkout and the cruise to L2. Recent News
JWST InformationDownload the report to NASA recommending addition or optimization of the James Webb Space Telescope capabilities to maximize astrobiology science return. This Northrop Grumman SPIE article describes the selected architecture, its expected performance and the plans for integration and testing. Even though many details in the design have changed since this article was written, many of the design choices and procedures are still valid. Sensitivity information for JWST is provided. Detailed exposure time calculations and mission completion time estimates can be generated by the JWST Mission Simulator. |
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