James Webb Space Telescope

The largest, most complex and powerful space telescope ever built.

Beyond the Cosmos: The Voyage of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

Major Funding Provided by the Northrop Grumman Foundation, Narrated by Michelle Williams, and Premiering in IMAX

With major funding provided by the Northrop Grumman Foundation, in collaboration with IMAX and Oscar-nominated Nathaniel Kahn, “Deep Sky,”  is a riveting documentary chronicling the awe-inspiring journey of NASA and Northrop Grumman’s high-stakes odyssey to develop and launch the groundbreaking James Webb Space Telescope. Voiced by Michelle Williams, the film offers unprecedented cosmic visuals and intimate looks at the observatory. Experience the film in IMAX theaters starting today.

What is Webb?

Northrop Grumman led the industry team for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest, most complex and powerful space telescope ever built.

The Webb Telescope fundamentally alters our understanding of the universe. Northrop Grumman ensured that this once unthinkable achievement became a reality. Identified as a top priority for astronomy and astrophysics by the National Research Council, the Webb Telescope is a key program for NASA and the scientific community and is central to the nation's ground- and space-based astrophysics program.

Webb Datasheet
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What it Was Like to Work on Webb

Before we could begin to build the most complex telescope ever, we had to invent technologies that never existed before. For many Northrop Grumman employees, the opportunity to work on Webb was the opening for boundless opportunity. From a new element on the Periodic Table and embracing digital transformation to creating zero gravity here on earth, Northrop Grumman employees developed something that the entire universe can be proud of.

Read Stories about Working on the Webb

Northrop Grumman Honored with Prestigious Collier Trophy for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope

Kathy Warden, chair, president and chief executive officer, Northrop Grumman accepted the prestigious 2022 Robert J. Collier Trophy at the annual National Aeronautic Association Collier Dinner on behalf of the company for its pioneering work on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

Photo ReleaseNews ReleaseNorthrop Grumman and the Robert J. Collier Trophy
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Northrop Grumman Gifts James Webb Space Telescope Full-Scale Model to the Space Foundation

Northrop Grumman Celebrates the Anniversary of First Images that Changed Our Understanding of the Universe

(Photo Credit: NASA)
Webb’s mid-infrared image of barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068

Sustaining the World’s Most Powerful Space Telescope

Northrop Grumman Provides Sustainment on the James Webb Space Telescope as the Engineering Marvel Approaches One Year Since Release of First Images

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Northrop Grumman Honored with Prestigious Collier Trophy for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

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Northrop Grumman Wins Collier Trophy for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

Goddard Memorial Trophy: James Webb Space Telescope

Northrop Grumman Awarded 2023 Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

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Northrop Grumman Space Navigation Systems Achieve Galactic Threshold – and Keep on Going

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NASA Awards Contract to Maintain Webb Telescope Operations

Source: NASA

Northrop Grumman Webb team in front of the James Webb Space Telescope in cleanroom

NASA and Northrop Grumman Receive Aviation Week Grand Laureate Award

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Northrop Grumman Employees Receive NASA’s Highest Honors for Building the James Webb Space Telescope

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Northrop Grumman-built James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory Help Scientists See the Universe in New Ways

teelscope image capture of distant universe

James Webb Space Telescope, Built in Partnership with Northrop Grumman, Reveals New View of the Universe

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Watch Northrop Grumman’s "The Dawn of Webb" Trailer

Folded James Webb Space Telescope

Northrop Grumman Enables James Webb Space Telescope’s Coldest Instrument to Reach Operational Temperature

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Northrop Grumman Celebrates Webb Telescope’s Arrival at Lagrange Point 2

illustration of James Webb Space Telescope in space

James Webb Space Telescope Begins Million-Mile Journey

James Webb Space Telescope in large building

Northrop Grumman and NASA Complete Final Sunshield Deployment Test on the James Webb Space Telescope

James Webb Space Telescope in large building

Northrop Grumman Fully Assembles NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

Cosmic Game Changer: Northrop Grumman and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

Read this fascinating series on the creation of the James Webb Space Telescope.

James Webb Space Telescope in facility

Cosmic Game Changer: Northrop Grumman and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

sunsheild for the Webb Telescope

Game Changer Part II: Northrop Grumman and the James Webb Space Telescope’s Confounding Sunshield

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Game Changer Part III: Triumph

We were watching the telemetry come through on the screen and … it was amazingly consistent and controlled. 

Images from the James Webb Space Telescope

 

technicians working on James Webb Space Telescope in cleanroom

Want a Deeper Dive? Check out Webb Telescope Infographics

James Webb Space Telescope Infographic with text Distance Matters

James Webb Space Telescope "Distance Matters" Infographic

graphical eye with text seeing is believing

James Webb Space Telescope "Seeing is Believing" Infographic

Discover Webb

Want to discover new worlds from our world? The Webb Telescope has been brought to reality by NASA and Northrop Grumman.
White female technician completes an operation on a space telescope

How Webb is Defining Possible

NASA's Webb Telescope is using its superb angular resolution and near-infrared instruments to discover and study planetary systems similar to our own, analyzing the molecular composition of extrasolar planets’ atmospheres and directly imaging Jupiter-size planets orbiting nearby stars.

Webb is making observations once thought to be impossible; multiple new technologies had to be invented simply to build it. The groundbreaking mirror and powerful instruments are being used to discover and study distant planetary systems.

Webb is also looking deep into the past, to a time when the earliest stars and galaxies were born. By extending our knowledge of the cosmos, the Webb telescope will help us answer the compelling questions, "How did we get here?" and "Are we alone?"

Webb Feature Stories

telescope view of deep space

A New Era in Astronomy

Celebrating Webb’s First Year of Scientific Operations

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In a League of Its Own

The Spacecraft Bus for the James Webb Space Telescope

Female engineer working on spacecraft

Cosmic Outfitters

Dressing Spacecraft for Mission Success

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Engineering Marvel

The JWST Mega Sunshield Takes its Shape

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Alien Life Could Be Found on New Planets

Infographic showing artist rendering of James Webb Space Telescope and its spin off technologies

Spin-Off Technologies From Webb Telescope Are Helping Other Ventures

The Webb Team

NASA led the international partnership that included the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is managing the Webb Telescope project, and the Space Telescope Science Institute is responsible for science and mission operations, as well as ground station development.

As the prime contractor to develop the James Webb Space Telescope, Northrop Grumman designed and built the deployable sunshield, provided the spacecraft and integrated the total system. The observatory subsystems were developed by a Northrop Grumman-led team with vast experience in developing space-based observatories.

  • Ball Aerospace: Optical design, mirrors, wavefront sensing, and control design and algorithms
  • Harris Corporation: Optical telescope integration and testing
  • University of Arizona: Near-Infrared Camera
  • European Space Agency (ESA): Near-Infrared Spectrograph
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), ESA: Mid-Infrared Instrument
  • Canadian Space Agency (CSA): Fine Guidance Sensor with Tunable Filter Module