The James Webb Space Telescope

E-mailed exchanges show the space agency’s internal struggle to address pleas to change the controversial name of its latest, greatest observatory

With its mirrors now focused, the observatory’s science instruments are now being readied for work

The ambitious observatory has arrived at its home—near a gravitationally stable spot called L2—for a premier view of the universe

The observatory’s unprecedented infrared measurements might at last bridge a growing rift between astronomers over how fast the universe is expanding

The observatory has flawlessly unfurled its mirrors and sunshield—although more steps are needed before the science can begin

The successful unfurling of the five-layered, tennis court-sized assemblage is a major milestone for the new observatory

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will travel to a special spot where the gravity from Earth and the sun is balanced

After years of delay, the most ambitious observatory ever built has at last left Earth. It now faces a high-stakes series of deployments in deep space

The long-delayed successor to the Hubble Space Telescope is set to take flight in December

The observatory must complete about 50 major deployments after liftoff

Before it can study the first stars and galaxies, the observatory must endure a sea voyage, a rocket launch and an all-or-nothing deployment sequence in deep space

From more than 1,000 proposals, the scientists that hoped to perform the observatory’s historic first studies now know their fate