NASA to launch $11 billion telescope into space over 20 years to replace James Webb

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is working on

creation of a new space telescope. It will replace the James Webb Space Telescope, which has been operating for about six months.

What is known

The final name of the observatory has not yet been chosen. The space telescope is currently listed as the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). It will be able to work for several decades.

HWO will support roboticservice. For this reason, the observatory will be able to operate longer than James Webb. In addition, maintenance will be cheaper than in the case of Hubble, which was handled by astronauts on shuttles.

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NASA has no plans to make HWO ultra-moderna solution that has no analogues. This is due to the fact that much more money was spent on the development of James Webb than planned. Therefore, the department will mainly use existing technologies, including a 6-meter mirror. Without improvements, of course, it will not do either. The already mentioned mirror will be upgraded to reduce surface curvature hundreds of times.

The cost of Habitable Worlds Observatory will beat least $ 11 billion. The launch of the space telescope will take place by the beginning of the 40s. One of the tasks of the HWO will be the study and search for life on exoplanets closest to Earth.