A Lockheed Martin-led team has been awarded a design contract by NASA for the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST). The NGST, part of NASA's Origins programme, will be launched in 2008 and will help NASA observe the first stars and galaxies formed in the universe.
The Lockheed Martin team, comprising Raytheon, Honeywell and Jackson and Tull, will design an observatory optimised for infrared imaging and spectroscopy. The design will include an 8m (26ft) primary mirror and infrared detectors.
The NGST will be about 1.6 million kilometres (1 million miles) from earth. NGST will see objects 400 times fainter than those studied with ground-based infrared telescopes.
Source: Flight International