DENVER — Two companies will investigate contributions they can make to develop a component of NASA's next-generation observatory. The Denver Post reports (http://dpo.st/1QOWN1E) the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope is expected to launch in the mid-2020s, following the Hubble Space Telescope and scheduled 2018 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. NASA has brought in Boulder-based Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.