Optical Telescope Element (OTE) is a sub-section of the James Webb Space Telescope, a large infrared space telescope launched on 25 December 2021, consisting of its main mirror, secondary mirrors, the framework and controls to support the mirrors, and various thermal and other systems. The OTE collects the light and sends it to the science instruments in Webb's Integrated Science Instrument Module. The OTE has been compared to being the "eye" of the telescope and the backplane of it to being the "spine".