Overview

Plans for a Hubble Space Telescope follow-on mission – The James Webb Space Telescope – were motivated by continued interest in the formation of stars and galaxies in the early history of our universe.

Many important observations have been made at the limits of Hubble’s capabilities, but Webb will observe, in only a few hours, objects that take the Hubble Space Telescope one or more weeks to record. It will explore fundamental issues about the earliest epochs of our universe and the processes by which it evolved.

Our Role

As the principal subcontractor for Northrop Grumman Corporation, Ball Aerospace’s contribution of advanced optical technology and lightweight mirror system lies at the heart of the Webb.

The diameter of Webb’s primary mirror will measure approximately 6.5 meters. The primary mirror is comprised of 18 hexagonal mirror segments, each approximately 1.3 meters in size. The individual mirror segments are phased in space using computer-controlled actuators that can adjust the position and shape of the mirrors to give the telescope a high quality, sharp image. Because the Webb is an infrared telescope, the mirrors and actuators must function at temperatures as low as –400 degrees Fahrenheit (33 K).

Webb’s success will demonstrate the ability to deploy a large segmented telescope in orbit. The telescope’s sensitivity and angular resolution will allow it to observe faint objects in less than 1/100 of the exposure time required by even the most sensitive mode of the Hubble Space Telescope. That makes it hundreds of times faster than the largest ground-based telescopes.

Ball Aerospace has drawn on its extensive experience with space hardware designed for all four of NASA’s Great Observatories and other customers for the development, validation, and demonstration of technologies that will benefit the Webb.

The super-telescope’s projected liftoff is 2014.