James Webb Space Telescope

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Context

NASA has once again changed the launch date of the $8 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) from December 18 to December 22.

About

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST or "Webb") is a joint NASA–ESA–CSA space telescope that is planned to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA's flagship astrophysics mission.
JWST will study various phases in the history of the universe, from the formation of solar systems to the evolution of our own Solar System.
The telescope must be kept very coldin order to observe in the infrared without interference, so it will be deployed in space near the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point.
Also a large sunshield made of silicon-coated and aluminium-coated Kapton will keep its mirror and instruments below 50 K (−223.2 °C).

Note

A Lagrange point is a location in space where the combined gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as Earth and the sun or Earth and the moon, equal the centrifugal force felt by a much smaller third body.
The interaction of the forces creates a point of equilibrium where a spacecraft may be "parked" without coming in the influence of gravitational field of any other body (example Earth or Sun).