So was the James Webb Space Telescope a top secret project or what?

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Here’s a mention way back in 2003:

Why is NASA so dead set about not recovering the Hubble Telescope now?

I am sort of flummoxed on this one. Hubble was supposed to be finished with its mission in 2005, so it look like it’s going to exceed its originally projected lifespan. My concern, and the concern of a good many people who testified at an open hearing on this matter, is that Hubble might be taken down before the James Webb Space Telescope gets up and running. Given the glitches with Hubble’s initial deployment I’d say that was a risky position to be putting ourselves in. For the cost of an add…