Technical Details for the James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope is peering into the past to unlock the mysteries of our universe. Learn more about the technical details of this ambitious mission.

Near-Infrared Camera: University of Arizona
Near-Infrared Spectrograph: European Space Agency (ESA)
Mid-Infrared Instrument: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), ESA
Fine Guidance Sensor with Tunable Filter Module: Canadian Space Agency (CSA)

Mission Lifetime	5 years (10-year goal)
Orbit	L2 (the Second Sun-Earth Lagrange Point), 1,500,000 km from Earth
Sunshield Dimensions	Approximately 22 meters x 12 meters
Primary Mirror	6.5 meter diameter aperture
Wavelength Coverage	0.6 to > 27 microns
Diffraction Limit	2.0 microns
One-Year Sky Coverage	100%
Telescope Operating Temperature	~45 Kelvin (-380˚F)
Payload Mass	Approximately 6,500 kg
Science	First light, assembly of galaxies, birth of stars, planetary systems and the origin of life
Technology	Sunshield membrane material, near-infrared and mid-infrared detectors, lightweight cryogenic mirrors, microshutter arrays, cryogenic detector readout application-specific integrated circuits, cryogenic heat switches, wavefront sensing and control, large precision cryogenic structure, and the MIRI cryocooler