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Cost cuts to dim space telescope’s vision

The vision of the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to Hubble, could be reduced to cut the scope's $1 billion overspend

31 August 2005

THE vision of the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to Hubble, could be dimmed to cut the scope鈥檚 $1 billion overspend.

The change, proposed by a panel of astronomers assessing the project, means the telescope would be able to see infrared wavelengths of about 1.7 micrometres. But to see into the visible range of the spectrum down to 0.6 micrometres it would have to spend 50 per cent longer on its observations.

The recommendation has raised hackles. Robert O鈥橠ell of Rice University in Texas, who was a Hubble project scientist from 1972 to 1982, says: 鈥淭he JWST had limited optical performance anyway and to erode that further really jeopardises optical space astronomy in the next decade. It really will leave a gap.鈥�

鈥淚t means the telescope would have to spend 50 per cent longer on some observations鈥�

There may be a gap anyway. The JWST cannot be launched before 2011, while Hubble could fail by 2007 unless it is fitted with new gyroscopes and batteries.

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