# 5720 - 2022 First-Class Forever Stamp - James Webb Space Telescope

US #5720
2022 James Webb Space Telescope

• Honors the James Webb Space Telescope and what it represents – the possibility of countless new discoveries in the field of space exploration

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Value:  60¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  September 8, 2022
First Day City:  Washington, DC
Quantity Issued:  30,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset, Microprint
Format:  Panes of 20
Tagging:  Phosphor, block tag

Why the stamp was issued:  To commemorate NASA’s launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most complex telescope ever sent to space.  It was launched on December 25, 2021.

About the stamp design:  Pictures an artist’s rendering of the James Webb Telescope against a starry spacescape.  The selvage pictures a photograph of a star taken by the telescope early in its mission.  Artwork by James Vaughan.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, DC.

History the stamp represents:  The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was the most powerful telescope ever launched into space as of 2022.  The telescope was named after James E. Webb, administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968.  It was designed as a successor to the famous Hubble Space Telescope and features improvements to allow for higher resolution and better images.  It is hoped the Webb telescope will give astronomers the chance to investigate some of the oldest stars and galaxies in the universe from the safety of planet Earth.

The Hubble Space Telescope was smaller than JWST and observed objects in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light.  JWST, on the other hand, observes objects in a lower frequency range from long-wave visible (red) light through mid-infrared.  It is equipped with a powerful kite-shaped sunshield to keep direct light from the Sun and indirect light from the Moon and Earth from hitting it.  This was done to keep the telescope at the extremely cold temperature (50 Kelvin or -370 ºF) required to keep it functioning.  JWST orbits the Sun at 930,000 miles from Earth.

JWST was supposed to launch in 2007, but was delayed by unforeseen circumstances (including the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020).  The telescope finally launched in December 2021, marking the beginning of a new era in space imaging.