Nancy Grace Roman Telescope

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Solar Panels for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Pass Key Tests [Aug 26]

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s Solar Array Sun Shield has successfully completed recent tests, signaling that the assembly is on track to be completed on schedule. The panels are designed to power and shade the observatory, enabling all the mission’s observations and helping keep the instruments cool.

The Roman team has two sets of these panels –– one that will fly aboard the observatory and another as a test structure, used specifically for preliminary assessments.

Engineers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, evaluated the test version in a thermal vacuum chamber, which simulates the hot and cold temperatures and low-pressure environment the flight panels will experience in space. Since the panels will be stowed for launch, the team practiced deploying them in space-like conditions.

Meanwhile, a vendor built up the flight version by fitting the panels with solar cells. After delivery to Goddard, technicians tested the solar cells by flashing the panels with a bright light that simulates the Sun.

“We save a significant amount of time and money by using two versions of the panels, because we can do a lot of preliminary tests on a spare while moving further in the process with the flight version,” said Jack Marshall, the Solar Array Sun Shield lead at NASA Goddard. “It streamlines the process and also avoids risking damage to the panels that will go on the observatory, should testing reveal a flaw.”

Next spring, the flight version of the Solar Array Sun Shield will be installed on the Roman spacecraft. Then, the whole spacecraft will go through thorough testing to ensure it will hold up during launch and perform as expected in space.

 

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJKjpYKJwk4

Oct 2, 2024
In September 2024, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope passed a key milestone and was approved for the next stage of construction. Work on the main systems that will make up the final spacecraft is finishing, and the team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is ready to begin integration, the process of connecting them together. This video celebrates the effort to reach the final stages of assembly.

To learn more about all these systems and where they fit into Roman, visit https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/interactive/


Launching no later than May 2027, Roman is NASA’s next flagship mission. An infrared survey telescope with the same resolution as Hubble, but 100 times the field of view, Roman is being built and tested at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Partners from across the country are contributing to this effort.

Music credit: “The Call,” Torsti Juhani Spoof [BMI] Universal Production Music

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Producer: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Videographers: Sophia Roberts (eMITS)
Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Jolearra Tshiteya (ASRC Federal)
Public affairs officer: Claire Andreoli (NASA/GSFC)
Editor: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)

 

[FighterJock]

Good news Flyaway. A long time until launch though May 2027.

 

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Roman Space Telescope reaches assembly milestone

All the major elements of NASA’s next flagship space telescope are now under one roof as NASA says its development remains on cost and schedule.

spacenews.com

 

[FighterJock]

Excellent news for the Roman Space Telescope, even better that it remains on cost and schedule.

 

[Archibald]

Yup, it is a welcome change from Hubble and Webb.

 

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NASA Successfully Integrates Roman Mission’s Telescope, Instruments

NASA Successfully Integrates Roman Mission’s Telescope, Instruments - NASA

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully integrated the mission’s telescope and two instruments onto the instrument carrier, marking the

www.nasa.gov

 

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NASA Joins Telescope, Instruments to Roman Spacecraft [Jan 8]

Technicians have successfully integrated NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s payload – the telescope, instrument carrier, and two instruments – to the spacecraft that will deliver the observatory to its place in space and enable it to function while there.

“With this incredible milestone, Roman remains on track for launch, and we’re a big step closer to unveiling the cosmos as never before,” said Mark Clampin, acting deputy associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It’s been fantastic to watch the team’s progress throughout the integration phase. I look forward to Roman’s transformative observations.”

The newly joined space hardware will now undergo extensive testing. The first test will ensure each major element operates as designed when integrated with the rest of the observatory and establish the hardware’s combined performance. Then environmental tests will subject the payload to the electromagnetic, vibration, and thermal vacuum environments it will experience during launch and on-orbit operations. These tests will ensure the hardware and the launch vehicle will not interfere with each other when operating, verify the communications antennas won’t create electromagnetic interference with other observatory hardware, shake the assembly to make sure it will survive extreme vibration during launch, assess its performance across its expected range of operating temperatures, and make sure the instruments and mirrors are properly optically aligned.

Meanwhile, Roman’s deployable aperture cover will be integrated with the outer barrel assembly, and then the solar panels will be added before spring. Then the structure will be joined to the payload and spacecraft this fall.

The Roman mission remains on track for completion by fall 2026 and launch no later than May 2027.