Three Decades Of Space Exploration As NASA Builds A Telescope

In less than three weeks, NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency will finally launch the James Webb Space Telescope into orbit. And it’s been a long time coming.

The new observatory has been created as a successor to the aging Hubble Space Telescope and will be the largest and most powerful space science telescope ever constructed by NASA.

The machine comprises a 21-foot mirror made up of 18 golden plates. This primary mirror reflects infrared rays to a small mirror, which then directs them to an array of four sensors. These include infrared cameras, near-infrared spectrographs and other infrared-sensitive instruments.

All this will help the James Webb Telescope observe parts of space that have never been seen…