When the Webb Telescope takes off for its perch in space, a million miles away, it will be operated by some 200,000 lines of software code. One of its goals will be to search for faint signs of infrared light to help us better understand the origins of the universe. Since a system failure would involve a space shuttle mission to repair, the software needs to be right the first time.

NASA chose an IBM Rational systems development solution to be used by its three international space agency partners in building the Telescope. The solution will act as a blueprint for the entire multi-decade project, allowing different development organizations to "drag and drop" software code directly into the blueprint, where it is then automatically populated across the entire project. Such modeling can accelerate software development by almost 30 percent, with quality checks built in at every step.

It's a long way from the development of the Hubble Telescope nearly 20 years ago. Hubble was a mix of proprietary applications. When a fix was needed, engineers had to identify not only which software application would solve the problem, but sometimes track down the very same developer who wrote the original code years earlier.

What is the James Webb Space Telescope?

This large infrared space telescope is scheduled for launch in 2013, replacing the Hubble Space Telescope. It will serve as the premier observatory for thousands of astronomers worldwide over the next decade. The Webb Telescope will seek out traces of visible and infrared light from the very first stars, to offer clues to the formation of the Universe.

How is the Webb Telescope different from Hubble?

There are some similarities—both Telescopes are (or will be) in space. They both seek to improve our understanding of processes like star birth and the evolution of galaxies. However, there are many differences.

To start, the Webb Telescope will primarily look at the Universe in the infrared, while the Hubble studies it at optical and ultra-violet wavelengths. The Webb Telescope also has a much bigger mirror than the Hubble. This larger light-collecting area means that it can peer farther back into time than the Hubble is capable of doing. The Hubble is in a very close orbit around the earth, while the Webb Telescope will be one million miles away at the second Lagrange (L2) point.

Specifically, what will the Webb Telescope do?

It has four scientific goals:

The End of the Dark Ages: First Light and Reionization seeks to identify the first bright objects that formed in the early Universe, and follow the ionization history.

The Assembly of Galaxies will determine how galaxies and dark matter, including gas, stars and active nuclei evolved to the present day.

The Birth of Stars and Protoplanetary Systems focuses on the birth and early development of stars and planets.

Planetary Systems and the Origins of Life studies the physical and chemical properties of solar systems (including our own).

Where will it orbit?

The Webb Telescope will be situated at the second Lagrange point (L2) of the Sun-Earth system, about one million miles from the Earth. The combined gravitational forces of the Sun and the Earth can almost hold a spacecraft at this point, and it takes relatively little rocket thrust to keep the spacecraft near L2. The cold and stable temperature of the L2 point will allow it to make the very sensitive infrared observations needed.

How large is it?

The Webb Telescope is about the size of a school bus and has a large mirror, 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) in diameter and a sunshield the size of a tennis court. Both the mirror and sunshade won't fit onto the ship fully so both will fold up and open only once the Telescope is in outer space.

Who is developing the Telescope?

The Webb Telescope is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). NASA has overall responsibility and its Goddard Space Flight Center is managing the development effort. Over 1,000 people in more than 17 countries are working on the project.

Who is James Webb and why does he have a telescope named for him?

James Webb is a former NASA Administrator who laid the groundwork for the Apollo missions to the moon.

1944
IBM helps to design and build the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator for Harvard University. It is used by Navy scientists to prepare ballistic tables.

1957
Two IBM 704 computers are used to track the Soviet Union's Sputnik I, the world's first artificial satellite.

1959
The United States accelerates its satellite launching program, including the first U.S. flight of monkeys (Able and Baker) into outer space. An IBM 709 data processing system is used in this effort.

1962
Mercury Astronaut John Glenn in Friendship 7 becomes the first American to orbit the Earth. His historic four-hour, three-orbit flight is monitored in real-time by IBM computers.

1968
A two-ton, three-foot high, 21-foot diameter, IBM-assembled Instrument Unit guides the Apollo 8 astronauts in the first manned circumlunar flight.

1969
The Apollo 11 astronauts make the first manned landing on the Moon with the help of IBM computers.

1970
IBM computers in Houston assist flight controllers in the dramatic rescue of the Apollo 13.

1971
IBM computers help guide the Apollo 14 and Apollo 15 Moon landings. Photographs taken by Mariner 9, the first spacecraft to orbit Mars, are enhanced by IBM computers.

1982—85
IBM technology supports successful flights of the Space Shuttles Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, respectively.

1993
The IBM ThinkPad 750C becomes the first modern notebook computer to fly in space, as part of the Space Shuttle Endeavour's mission to refurbish the Hubble Telescope.

1997
NASA's Pathfinder, equipped with IBM RS/6000 technology for its onboard computer, lands on Mars.

2002
IBM collaborates with NASA scientists to analyze tele-robotic data during the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover (MER) expeditions.

2006
NASA uses IBM software to develop the software and systems that will operate the James Webb Space Telescope which will look much closer to the beginning of time and hunt for the unobserved formation of the first galaxies.