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Telescopes and space missions

Telescopes and space missions

The ten-billion-dollar gamble: What the JWST will do (and why it’s taken so long)

17 Dec 2021

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is scheduled to launch on 25 December. To mark the event, Physics World is publishing a series of blog posts on the telescope’s technological innovations and scientific missions. This post is the first in the series.

Artist's conception of the James Webb Space Telescope
Ready to fly: An artist’s impression of the James Webb Space Telescope. (Courtesy: NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez)
Launch is usually the most dangerous part of a space mission. Once the payload has been hurled skywa

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