Webb: Using Sci-fi to build a better Hubble Few could argue that
Hubble is the ‘daddy’ of all space telescopes. In its twenty
years of operation, it has pushed back the boundaries of
astronomy and physics, sent back images that have captured the
imagination of an entire planet and provided PC screen savers to
a generation. But all good things come to an end and, although
more powerful than ever, Hubble’s days are numbered and its
successor is waiting in the wings. Set for launch in three
years, the James Webb Space Telescope will allow science to
peer-deeper into space and look further back in time than ever
before. Whereas Hubble looked like a telescope that found its
way into space, Webb is a very different beast. Resembling more
of an interstellar sailing ship than a telescope, Webb’s
colossal light-collecting mirrors sit atop a Sun-shield the size
of a tennis court and, once unfolded to their full 6.5m spread,
the array of hexagonal mirrors will dwarf Hubble’s single 2.4m
mirror. Nor will Webb have access