【Taste of Secret Sex】

In a cavernous Los Angeles County cleanroom,Taste of Secret Sex Northrop Grumman and NASA engineers have pieced together the space agency's prized next-generation telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope.

It's big.

How big? NASA tweeted a picture of a human standing on a crane beside the behemoth cosmic-sleuthing satellite, for reference.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The large, gold-tinted hexagons are the space telescope's mirrors. There's a reason they're big.

"A telescope's sensitivity, or how much detail it can see, is directly related to the size of the mirror area that collects light from the objects being observed," wrote NASA. "A larger area collects more light, just like a larger bucket collects more water in a rain shower than a small one."

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Webb's mirrors have a 6.5 meter, or over 21-foot, diameter. That's significantly larger than the nearly 8-foot mirror on NASA's legendary Hubble telescope, the hard-working predecessor to the Webb.

The Webb — designed to peer at distant galaxies, solar nurseries, and exotic exoplanets — will also sit on a light-blocking base, called a sunshield, which is about thesize of a tennis court.

(The Hubble, too, is big. It's the size of a tractor-trailer truck.)

SEE ALSO: The space race forged immortal rock and roll guitars

The James Webb telescope is scheduled to launch into space on March 21, 2021. The $9.66 billion project has been beset with numerous delays, but such is the price of unprecedented outer space endeavors.

"The James Webb Space Telescope is the most ambitious and complex astronomical project ever built, and bringing it to life is a long, meticulous process," European Space Agency director Günther Hasinger said last year. "The wait will be a little longer now but the breakthrough science that it will enable is absolutely worth it."

"From the very first galaxies after the Big Bang, to searching for chemical fingerprints of life on Enceladus, Europa, and exoplanets like TRAPPIST-1e, Webb will be looking at some incredible things in our universe,” said Eric Smith, director of the James Webb Space Telescope, in a statement.

• Entertainment
• Shopping
• Tech
• Life
• Deals
• Social Good
• Science
• Digital Culture

• Best iPad deal: Save $100 on 13
• Star Wars Celebration 2023: What we learned about the new Daisey Ridley
• Netflix's 'Beef': Steven Yeun breaks down his emotional church scene
• 15 best celebrity graduation speeches to watch online
• The best day to book your flight, according to Google
• Angel Reese is a national champion, not the villain
• Tesla workers shared private footage captured by the car's cameras, ex
• 'Wordle' today: Here's the answer, hints for April 11
• One of Android's Easter Eggs is a Flappy Bird
• Apple to let users automatically share Medical IDs on emergency calls

• The Tears of the Taxed
• Class Carpetbagger
• Empathy for the Devil
• He Doesn’t Have a Plan for That
• A Case of the Icks
• This Brand is Late Capitalism
• Nostradamus of the Obvious
• Speed Freaks
• Business as Usual
• Bombs Away

• Apple is reportedly still working on smart glasses of some kind
• 'Beau Is Afraid' review: Ari Aster delivers a brilliant, 3
• 53 fun holidays to celebrate if you need something to look forward to this summer
• 'Wordle' today: Here's the answer, hints for April 7
• Best vacuum mop combo deal: Save $140 on the Tineco Floor One S5
• Star Wars Celebration 2023: What we learned about the new Daisey Ridley
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for April 9
• Google will incorporate generative AI into its search engine
• Contingent No More
• Researchers discover the best fabrics to use for coronavirus facemasks

• Best soundbar deal: Save $300 on the Sonos Arc
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for April 9
• 'Yellowjackets' Season 2, episode 3 recap: Why Lottie's bee lesson is so important
• Closer in quarantine: How some friends and families are actually connecting more in isolation
• Shop Owala's Memorial Day Sale for 30% off tumblers
• Pandemic on Steam is the perfect quarantine activity
• TikTok recipes are a pain to follow, but a joy to watch
• How to watch 'Demon Slayer' season 3
• Japan orders Google to stop alleged antitrust violations
• 10 times 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' made me scream with delight — or cringe