James Webb Space Telescope Is Now Under Construction

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), NASA's next generation telescope that will replace the Hubble Telescope, finally had it's first mirror segment installed, the first of 18 different segments.  The JWST will be able to see out into space further and more clearly than the Hubble Telescope can currently do right now.  It will also be able to determine what the atmospheres of exoplanets are, and determine their potential for harboring life.  It should be completed sometime next year.

The JWST's eighteen segments will be combined to create a mirrored surface that will be able to give the telescope a twenty-five square mile viewing area.  Compare that to the Hubble, which can only gather a five-mile viewing area.  Here's a picture giving you a better idea of the size difference between the two, as well as their designs:

^{Comparison between Hubble and JWST. NASA.}

See?  Completely different designs.  The eighteen segments are made up of a reflective surface that is made of beryllium, and then it's coated in gold.  The telescope will unfold these eighteen segments and align them precisely when it reaches it's orbiting altitude of one million miles above the Earth.  The telescope is a joint effort between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency.  The JWST will launch into space October 18, 2018 from French Guiana on an ESA Ariane V rocket.