James Webb Space Telescope explained to kids

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope that is being built by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). It will be the largest and most powerful telescope ever made. The telescope is named after James E. Webb, the second administrator of NASA. The JWST will be launched into space in 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket. It will be placed at the Lagrange point 2, which is about 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. From there, the telescope will observe the universe in infrared light. The JWST will be able to see things that are very far away and very faint. It will be able to see the first stars and galaxies that formed in the universe. The telescope will also be able to study exoplanets, which are planets that orbit stars other than our Sun. The JWST is being built by Northrop Grumman. The primary mirror of the telescope is 21.3 feet (6.5 meters) wide. The mirror is made of 18 hexagonal segments. The segments are made of beryllium, which is a very light metal. The segments are coated with a very thin layer of gold. The JWST will cost about $9.66 billion to build and launch. It is the most expensive scientific project ever built.