How to Explore Distant Galaxies Formed 13 Billion Years Ago

Later this year, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will be strapped to a French rocket and launched nearly one million miles into space to look at galaxies formed 300 million years after the Big Bang. The telescope employs new and novel technology, including a gold-covered mirror, the largest ever launched into space, and a sunshield the size of a tennis court and made of five paper-thin layers that will cool down the telescope's sensitive infrared equipment. The hope is that the telescope, which has taken 25 years to design and build at a cost of $10 billion, will shoot back images even more spectacular than the Hubble Telescope. The engineering risks are complex, but scientists hope for a grand reward.

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