NASA says it’s ready to build $8.8 billion super space telescope


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/0...ace-telescope/



NASA says it’s ready to build $8.8 billion super space telescope
By Agence France-Presse
Monday, February 3, 2014 17:44 EST

All the pieces of the most powerful space telescope ever are ready for assembly at NASA, the US space agency said Monday.

The $8.8 billion James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled for launch in 2018 and aims to provide an unprecedented look at far-away planets and the first galaxies formed.

A successor to the Hubble Space Telescope launched in 1990, it is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

All 18 of its primary mirror segments and four science instruments are now housed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center facilities in suburban Maryland.