NASA shows off space telescope which will take over after Hubble

The full scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope illuminated at South By Southwest in Austin Texas on March 8, 2013.

NASA revealed more details this weekend about the telescope destined to take over from the ageing Hubble Space Telescope.

At the SXSW technology converence in Austin, Texas, NASA showed off a full-scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope - built to look back to the dawn of time, the moments just after the Big Bang.

The 21-foot infrared-optimised telescope will be able to see across billions of light-years - capturing images of distant galaxies just after they formed.

It is scheduled to launch in 2018. NASA describes the JWST as the 'successor' to Hubble.

The instrument has cost $8.8 billion - £5.9 billion - to develop, according to Space.com.

Webb's lens is so large it will have to unfold in space after launch. Built mainly for infrared imaging, it will see through clouds of dust that Hubble cannot.

Hubble, which launched in 1990, still generates 360 gigabytes of image data every month - but is no longer being serviced after a final repair mission in 2009.

When it stops functioning, a rocket will attach a propulsion system to Hubble so it can safely 'de orbit' - the telescope is too big to fully burn up on re-entry.

"The mission is primarily to see the first light created after the Big Bang," says Scott Willoughby, Program Manager for Webb at Northrop Grumman. "That light is very far back in the distance; and you see farther back in time the farther away you look."

"We're seeing further back, because is more sensitive. But we are also seeing things we couldn't see because we're looking at a different part of the spectrum—infrared."

"Because of the distance, we’re looking at these galaxies at a young age. Webb will serve as a "cosmic time machine,"" said Dr. James Bullock, of the University of California Irvine.

The Webb's lens will be 21 feet in diameter - five times the area of Hubble's - made up of gold-coated beryllium.

Its sunshield will be the size of a tennis court once fully unfolded.

Source: NASA shows off space telescope which will take over after Hubble - Yahoo! News UK