Technical Details for the James Webb Space Telescope
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The James Webb Space Telescope is peering into the past to unlock the mysteries of our universe. Learn more about the technical details of this ambitious mission.
Customer: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5
Instruments:
- Near-Infrared Camera: University of Arizona
- Near-Infrared Spectrograph: European Space Agency (ESA)
- Mid-Infrared Instrument: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), ESA
- Fine Guidance Sensor with Tunable Filter Module: Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
Technical Details
Mission Lifetime | 5 years (10-year goal) |
Orbit | L2 (the Second Sun-Earth Lagrange Point), 1,500,000 km from Earth |
Sunshield Dimensions | Approximately 22 meters x 12 meters |
Primary Mirror | 6.5 meter diameter aperture |
Wavelength Coverage | 0.6 to > 27 microns |
Diffraction Limit | 2.0 microns |
One-Year Sky Coverage | 100% |
Telescope Operating Temperature | ~45 Kelvin (-380˚F) |
Payload Mass | Approximately 6,500 kg |
Science | First light, assembly of galaxies, birth of stars, planetary systems and the origin of life |
Technology | Sunshield membrane material, near-infrared and mid-infrared detectors, lightweight cryogenic mirrors, microshutter arrays, cryogenic detector readout application-specific integrated circuits, cryogenic heat switches, wavefront sensing and control, large precision cryogenic structure, and the MIRI cryocooler |