The mirror blanks for the James Webb space telescope (formerly the Next Generation Space Telescope NGST) have been completed by AXSYS technologies and after polishing and fitting they will create the largest mirror array ever found on a non-terrestrial telescope. The JWST will be important for several reasons. First, it will not see in the visible light spectrum like our eyes and the Hubble telescope do, rather it will collect light in the infrared wavelength which will allow it to capture light that would have been blocked by dust and gas in the optical wavelength. Second will be the mirroring system. If JWST was using a single mirror like the Hubble, the mirror would have been too large to get into orbit aboard a rocket, that’s why it is using an array of mirrors that are folded up like the petals of a flower until it reaches it’s target location (the 2nd laGrange point) and then deploys or unfolds its mirrors. While the project is still a while away from getting launched, creating the beryllium mirror blanks is an important first step in what will be the extra-planetary telescope for the next generation.

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