NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland brought together a diverse group from industry, academia, and government laboratories to help with the Webb telescope's design.

Scientists and engineers are now researching and testing technologies for the telescope's sunshield, the segmented mirrors, and the module that will carry the science instruments. Other teams are studying how to operate the telescope once it is placed in orbit.

Learn about some of the people behind the telescope, and the work they're doing, in Profiles. More scientists and engineers will be added periodically.

Goddard will manage Webb's development, and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland will operate the observatory much as it currently does for the Hubble mission.

The main industrial partner in building the telescope is the Northrop Grumman Space Technology.

Rounding out the team are the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, which have agreed to contribute 15 percent and 5 percent, respectively, to the program's mission development budget. And the astronomy community is playing a major role in defining science requirements and in building instruments.

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