Will the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) replace Hubbles capabilities?
Not exactly. JWST will be a wonderful observatory designed with the idea of looking at the early universe. I fully expect it will bring us much of the excitement that Hubble has brought us. But JWST lacks the short wavelength capabilities Hubble has, not just the ultraviolet but even the optical spectrum. It lacks a very rich set of tools that have proved extraordinary for looking at the solar system, our galaxy and nearby galaxies. Because JWST isnt serviceable, it will be great for while, but then it will have to be replaced. If Hubble hadnt been designed to be serviceable, we would have gotten perhaps only three to five years of really great observations before we exhausted its capabilities. If NASA does not service Hubble, what will that mean for STSI? If Hubble dies before James Webb is launched, we will lose some large fraction of our workforce. It will be difficult for us to retain our experts in operations while waiting for JWST to go on line, so we would have to rebuild some o
