most existential questions. are we alone in the universe? and where did that first light in the cosmos come from? i think its greatest discoveries are going to be answers to questions that we have yet to ask or imagine. reporter: webb s deputy project manager was hired by nasa 30 years ago to help fix hubble. it was the mechanical version of eye surgery. endeavour s mission in space was to install corrective mirrors of the near sighted at nearly $2 billion hubble space telescope can do what it s supposed to do, see. reporter: once in space, webb can t be repaired by astronauts. it will be too far away. orbiting the sun at a distance four times further away from earth than the moon. the telescope is also so big, about the size of a tennis court, that it can t fit on top of a rocket fully intact. we had to design it so it could be folded up and then unfold in space. it s the origami observe tory.