Inside the Star Factory: The Creation of the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s Largest and Most Powerful Space Observatory

Photographer Gunn and journalist Wanjek (Spacefarers) offer a fascinating close-up of the development of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Tracing the “three decades of planning, building, sweating, and fretting” that preceded the telescope’s launch, the authors describe the project’s conception during a 1989 meeting of astronomers and engineers who brainstormed what NASA’s next big initiative should be after the launch of the Hubble telescope, deciding on a space-based telescope more than twice as large as Hubble and capable of observing “the first generations of stars and galaxies” with infrared-sensitive instruments. The authors discuss the political savvy and engineering ingenuity required to make the telescope a reality, noting that the cost of the project was likely deliberately lowballed at $1 billion to secure congressional approval in the late 1990s (the final price tag was almost $10 billion) and that keeping the telescope’s instruments at the optimal -382 ˚F required the construction of a sunshield “the size of a tennis court.” The account of how NASA overcame logistical hurdles to complete the telescope impresses, but the real appeal of this generously illustrated volume is Gunn’s photos of engineers constructing and testing the telescope inside NASA’s workshop. It’s an intimate view of an astounding scientific achievement. Illus. (Oct.)