Next Generation Space Telescope

James Webb Space Telescope

6 out of 18 mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope being subjected to temperature dipping test
Names	Next Generation Space Telescope James Webb Space Telescope
Mission type	Astronomy
Operator	NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI
Website	jwst.nasa.gov sci.esa.int/jwst asc-csa.gc.ca jwst.stsci.edu
Mission duration	5 years (design) 10 years (goal)
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Northrop Grumman Ball Aerospace
Launch mass	6,500 kg (14,300 lb)
Dimensions	20.197 m × 14.162 m (66.26 ft × 46.46 ft) (sunshield)
Power	2,000 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	October 2018
Rocket	Ariane 5 ECA
Launch site	Kourou ELA-3
Contractor	Arianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Sun–Earth L2
Regime	Halo orbit
Periapsis	374,000 km (232,000 mi)
Apoapsis	1,500,000 km (930,000 mi)
Period	6 months
Epoch	planned
Main
Type	Korsch telescope
Diameter	6.5 m (21 ft)
Focal length	131.4 m (431 ft)
Collecting area	25 m2 (270 sq ft)
Wavelengths	from 0.6 µm (orange) to 28.5 µm (mid-infrared)
Transponders
Band	S-band (TT&C support) Ka band (data acquisition)
Bandwidth	S-band up: 16 kbit/s S-band down: 40 kbit/s Ka band down: up to 28 Mbit/s
Instruments NIRCam Near IR Camera NIRSpec Near-Infrared Spectrograph MIRI Mid IR Instrument NIRISS Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph FGS Fine Guidance Sensor Elements: Integrated Science Instrument Module Optical Telescope Element Spacecraft Element (Spacecraft Bus+Sunshield)
James Webb Space Telescope insignia

Fine Guidance Sensor
Elements:

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is a space telescope as part of NASA's Next Generation Space Telescope program which is scheduled to launch in October 2018.

Webb Space Telescope is being developed in cooperation between NASA and European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency. The telescope will offer unprecedented resolution and sensitivity from long-wavelength (orange to red) visible light, through near-infrared to the mid-infrared (0.6 to 27 micrometers).

In contrast to Hubble Space Telescope that has a 2.4-meter (7.9 ft) mirror, the JWST features a larger and segmented 6.5-meter-diameter (21 ft 4 in) 18 primary mirrors and will be located near the Earth–Sun L₂ point. A large sunshield will keep its mirror and four science instruments below 50 K (−220 °C; −370 °F).

JWST's capabilities will enable a broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology. One particular goal involves observing some of the most distant events and objects in the Universe, such as the formation of the first galaxies. These types of targets are beyond the reach of current ground and space-based instruments. Some of the other goals include understanding the formation of stars and planets, and direct imaging of exoplanets, and novas.