Collected half of the mirror for the telescope James Webb

With a powerful manipulator NASA engineers have set the ninth of the 18 mirror segments, which will be composed of a mirror of the future "mate" space telescope Hubble - the vast apparatus James Webb.

"Years of development and training pays dividends, - says the manager of Goddard Space Flight Center Lee Feinberg (Lee Feinberg), - progress pleases everyone who is involved in this." Pictures taken while working on a project team of James Webb, is seen as a special manipulator sets hex segments of the primary mirror of the future James Webb.

Produced Corporation Ball Aerospace, they each have 1.3 m in diameter and weigh about 40 kg. For their installation in an integrated system professionals responsible Harris Corporation. It is expected that in the first half of 2016 on the operation of the installation will be completed, and of the 18 segments of the composite lay down a 6.5-meter mirror Space Telescope.

The orbital infrared observatory will be the James Webb Space powerful tool for astronomy, eclipsing even the legendary Hubble. The total area of ​​the collecting surface of its primary mirror is 25 square meters. m, and covers him from the sunlight the screen is wider tennis court.

The unit is scheduled to start in late 2018, and by 2019 it will arrive at the place of work in L2 Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth. Here the star attraction of our planet and cancel each other, and James Webb will be able to stay in position without the expense of fuel.