JWST Overview

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), formerly the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), is a collaborative effort between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to develop a large, near- and mid-infrared optimized space telescope to be launched early in the next decade that can build and expand on the science opened up by the highly successful Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Development of the JWST is led by the JWST project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. A short introduction to the JWST observatory and its goals is given in the JWST Primer.

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is responsible for the Science and Operations Center (S&OC) for the JWST (in a similar fashion as for HST) and as such plays an important role in the development of the JWST. The STScI is also responsible for public outreach for the JWST.

The STScI represents the intermediary between the astronomical community and the JWST project as a whole. As such, we represent the science community's perspective on the project, ensure that the science goals for JWST are preserved and support the activity of theScience Working Group. The science drivers for the JWST mission translate into specific needs for instruments and our team is making sure that these needs are met. Once the JWST is in orbit, the STScI will be responsible for Planning and Scheduling (selecting proposals and making sure that the observations are scheduled safely and efficiently), Flight Operations (operating the telescope and taking care of emergencies), and Data Release (calibration pipeline, data archive).