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The James Webb telescope is set up for a conference in Orlando, Fla.

A model of the James Webb Space Telescope is currently touring the country. Here, the telescope is set up for a conference in Orlando, Fla. NASA

Hubble's view of Saturn.

The James Webb will see about a half a billion light years farther into space than the Hubble Space Telescope. Here, Hubble's view of Saturn. NASA, ESA and E. Karkoschka, University of Arizona

The Hubble Space Telescope has given scientists unprecedented images of the universe. But Hubble is growing older; it's been orbiting Earth for 17 years.

He says the light the James Webb telescope will collect is very faint, from stars that are more than 13 billion light years away.

"And a light year is about six trillion miles, so if you do the math it's a long, long way away," he says.

NASA, along with other space agencies, plans to invest more than $4 billion in building and operating this telescope over its five- to 10-year lifetime. In 2013, if all goes well, the James Webb Space Telescope will head out to its lonely outpost in the blackness of space.