Artists model of James Webb Space Telescope with Sun shield deployed as it will look once in space. (NASA)
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is NASAâs next great flagship observatory. Itâs set to continue â and extend â the illustrious scientific tradition established by the Hubble Space Telescope, while peering deeper into the universe and observing what Hubble could not.
James Edwin Webb, the telescopeâs namesake, was the second person to ever lead NASA, at the helm from 1961 until 1968 during the storied Apollo era. Thanks to his forward vision and administrative skill, Webb is credited with establishing NASAâs aerospace infrastructure and scientific focus that has made NASA the undisputed worldwide leader in space exploration and research for the half century since Apollo 8, the first mission to take humans beyond Earth orbit. In the heat of the space race, Webb emphasized that NASA maintain a balance between its mission of placing humans in sp