Space Telescope Science Institute TOGGLE SEARCH SEARCH MENU Main Navigation HISTORY JWST Home About News & Events Instrumentation Science Planning Science Execution Documentation Breadcrumbs Navigation Home James Webb Space Telescope About Introduction Origins of JWST STScI always played a key role in the definition and development of the James Webb Space Telescope. Work on the project began over 30 years ago at STScI with a challenge from Institute Director Riccardo Giacconi to “think about the next major mission beyond Hubble.” The development of a mission concept came in September 1989, with a workshop held at STScI, before Hubble was launched. The workshop, titled The Next Generation: A 10 m Class UV-Visible-IR Successor to HST, covered the scientific opportunities and technological challenges of such a mission and built on earlier research up until that date. The UV-Optical in Space Panel of the National Academies' Decadal Survey of 1990 provided momentum to the concept by recommending a 6-m cooled space telescope as a successor to Hubble.. Development of an 8-m Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) concept over the next two years focused on a cooled visible and infra-red telescope since it had become clear that it was technically impractical to include the UV capabilities. In 1993, the Space Telescope Institute Council (STIC) appointed a committee to study 21st-century space-astronomy missions and two years later, the committee recommended a 4-m telescope — smaller than the 8- to 10-m NGST initially discussed, but retaining the very important capability of seeing infrared light. The eventual restoration of the NGST to 8-m was due to NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, who noted that a 4-m telescope was "such a modest thing". For more about the early history of JWST, refer to Garth Illingworth’s article, NGST: The Early Days of JWST , in the STScI newsletter (2016, Volume 33, Issue 01). The timeline below outlines key milestones in the history of the James Webb Space Telescope. September 13, 1989 — September 15, 1989 NGST workshop at STScI "The Next Generation: A 10 m Class UV-Visible-IR Successor to HST" workshop is held at STScI to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the next mission beyond Hubble. HST and Beyond committee appointed by AURA Historical Resources Historical Sensitivity Estimates JWST Advisory Committee (JSTAC) Flyers White Papers Design Reference Mission (DRM) Science Operations Design Reference Mission (SODRM) Subscribe to the JWST Observer News Mailing List Get the latest news delivered directly to your inbox. Subscribe Follow JWST Observer on social media: Link tofacebook Link totwitter Link toyoutube For technical assistance, please contact the JWST Help Desk . The NASA James Webb Space Telescope, developed in partnership with ESA and CSA, is operated by AURA’s Space Telescope Science Institute. Back to top Footer STScI Secondary Navigation Who We Are Webcasts MAST News Center MyST Contact Us Opportunities Events Follow us on our social media channels. Link tofacebook Link totwitter Link toinstagram Link toyoutube Utility Navigation Sitemap Copyright Privacy