James Webb telescope: Hubble successor set for yet more tests

By Jonathan Amos

Engineers are getting ready to box up the James Webb Space Telescope and send it to Houston, Texas.

The successor to Hubble, due for launch in 2018, is going to be put inside the giant thermal vacuum chamber where they tested the Apollo spaceships.

For 90 days, JWST will get a thorough check-up in the same airless, frigid conditions that will have to be endured when it eventually gets into orbit.

The telescope’s aim will be to find the first stars to shine in the Universe.

To achieve this goal, the observatory is being given an enormous mirror and instruments that are tuned to detect some of faintest objects on the sky.

Continue reading by clicking the name of the source below.