NASA to reveal more details about its brand new James Webb Space Telescope

Photo: CHRIS GUNN

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This NASA photo released on May 16, 2017 shows the primary mirror of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope inside a cleanroom at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where it will undergo its last cryogenic test before it is launched into space in 2018. (Photo by Chris Gunn/AFP/Getty Images) less

Photo: CHRIS GUNN

A NASA engineer is reflected in the mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope at Johnson Space Center.

Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff

An artist's illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope. The kite-shaped object beneath the telescope's gold-plated mirror is a sunshield to protect the Webb's instruments. MUST CREDIT: Northrop Grumman handout illustration less

Photo: Northrop Grumman, Handout

NASA will reveal more details Wednesday about future plans for its brand new, $8.8 billion telescope.

The James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, has been under development for decades. Webb is projected to launch in spring 2019 from Kourou, French Guiana and is expected to carry out its mission for 5 to 10 years.

At 2 p.m. Wednesday, NASA officials will discuss the results of about 100 days of cryogenic testing -- to ensure the telescope functions as intended in an extreme cold and airless environment -- which was completed at Johnson Space Center in November.

They also will explain the telescope's "next steps on the observatory path to space," according to the press release.

The telescope "will be integrated with the space craft element" at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Redondo Beach, Calif., according to a Nov. 20 NASA web update.

It will then undergo even more testing, "the last exposure to a simulated launch environment before flight and deployment testing on the whole observatory," the update states.

Still, NASA already is lining up scientists to conduct experiments with Webb when it's launched in less than two years. University of Texas-Austin astronomers will be among the first in the world to use the telescope after they were among 13 projects tapped by the Space Telescope Science Institute (the science operations center for the Hubble and Webb telescopes) in Baltimore.

The Webb telescope is named after James E. Webb, NASA's second administrator who lead the Apollo space missions that landed the first humans on the moon.

Unlike Hubble, which launched 27 years ago and orbits the earth, Webb will orbit the sun 1 million miles away from earth. Hubble mainly observes visible light, while Webb will operate in the infrared, enabling it to study some of the faintest, youngest galaxies.

It is an international project lead by NASA in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

This story will be updated.

Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or http://ift.tt/1bNCYqd.

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