IN SPACE, no one can hear you scream – especially if you’re a state-of-the-art space telescope stationed well beyond the reach of a shuttle repair crew. If anything goes wrong with the delicate folding optics of Hubble’s successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA could be facing an $800 million loss.
After years of planning, NASA last week finally gave Californian aerospace firm TRW the contract to build the new telescope, which is due for launch in 2010. Webb’s design marks sweeping changes from Hubble. While Hubble was designed to be launched and serviced by the shuttle, Webb – named after…
