When the NASA Hubble Space Telescope will be retired from active duty, the James Webb Space Telescope should theoretically be put in its place. This is the most advanced, largest orbital observatory ever designed, and is currently under construction.
The tool will have a massive main mirror, several times larger than Hubble's. A total of 18 segments make up this giant instrument, which is the largest ever to be deployed in space. The telescope itself will be delivered to orbit in a packed formation, meaning that it will have to unfold after launch.
In order to protect its sensitive detectors from stray light, experts will protect the JWST with a tennis court-sized heat shield made out of five layers of material stacked on top of each other.
This gallery shows renditions of the JWST in space, as it will appear after it launches in 2018. Other images show details of some of its mirror segments, while yet another one displays a full-sized replica of the observatory, as it will look like once unfolded in space.
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