WEBB Telescope - The Next generation of Space Exploration

This past Sunday, the wife and I made our first foray into downtown Austin during SXSW (South by SouthWest).  We went to see the life size model of the James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST or WEBB Telescope). So what is the WEBB Telescope? It is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope, that will replace HUBBLE.
NASA was in Austin, this past weekend with a life size model of the space telescope set up on the lawn of the Long Center. The telescope is as big as a tennis court and as tall as a four story building.

photo by Kevin Surbaugh

While I was there, I walked up for a closer look, at the urging of my wife, who because of her handicap could not climb the grassy hill it was setting on. This gave me the opportunity to meet and and talk with one of the folks on hand to answer questions about the telescope. Scott Lewis, who is a Broadcast Producer for CosmoQuest.org, was the host I spoke to, who told me that WEBB was expected to be launched and replace Hubble in October 2018.

photo taken by passing bicyclist

According to the NASA website,

Webb will find the first galaxies that formed in the early Universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way Galaxy. Webb will peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own Solar System. Webb's instruments will be designed to work primarily in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, with some capability in the visible range.

Webb will have a large mirror, 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) in diameter and a sunshield the size of a tennis court. Both the mirror and sunshade won't fit onto a rocket fully open, so both will fold up and open once Webb is in outer space. Even the mirror was on display inside the Parmer Events Center next door. According to the website WEBB will reside in an orbit of about 1 million miles from the Earth.

The Telescope was named after the NASA Administrator (James Webb) who crafted the Apollo program, and who was a staunch supporter of space science.