NASA's Roman Telescope: A Giant Leap Toward Understanding the Universe

Posted on Dec 06, 2024 at 08:12 PM

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has brought us far closer to unlocking the secrets of the cosmos.

Notably, the project's final major delivery is the Optical Telescope Assembly, which consists of a 7.9-foot (2.4-meter) primary mirror, nine secondary mirrors, and supporting electronics and structures.

On November 7, the assembly was delivered to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre's largest clean room at the observatory building site in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The Telescope Assembly's Arrival Highlights

NASA Director of Astrophysics Mark Clampin has announced that the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope telescope assembly has arrived at the Goddard Space Flight Centre, along with other spacecraft components, during two advisory committee meetings.

The telescope will be able to view billions of objects dispersed over time and space by focussing cosmic light and transferring it to Roman's equipment.

Moreover, astronomers will use the Wide Field Instrument, a 300-megapixel infrared camera, to study the universe from the solar system's edge to the observable universe. They will also test new technologies for dimming host stars using Roman's Coronagraph Instrument.

NASA Goddard's optics lead, Bente Eegholm, is excited about the upcoming phase of assembling the top-notch Roman telescope and instruments for the Roman observatory.

Ensuring Mission Success

L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York, designed and constructed an assembly using NASA's optics, including the primary mirror, to meet Roman's wide-ranging, sensitive infrared studies requirements, adding it to the gear that had been sent down.

NASA Goddard's Josh Abel, lead Optical Telescope Assembly systems engineer, stated that the design and performance of the telescope will be crucial for the mission's survey capability.

Additionally, Goddard's team collaborated with L3Harris to meet rigorous standards and ensure the telescope assembly's seamless integration into the Roman observatory.

Remarkably, the assembly's design and performance are crucial for the mission's success, requiring rigorous manufacturing and testing processes. Each optical component was individually tested to ensure mirror alignment changes at space temperature.

The telescope underwent tests to simulate launch shaking, sound waves, actuator movement, and gas release during vacuum transition, similar to astronauts' reported space smells, to ensure proper control and prevent contamination of the telescope or instruments.



The Overall Functioning: Maintaining Accuracy

Nearly 100 heaters were used to maintain the temperature of the telescope during a month-long thermal vacuum test, ensuring it could withstand the temperature and pressure environment of space, allowing for stable focus and consistent high-resolution images.

Hopefully, the assembly has reached Goddard and will be mounted on Roman's Instrument Carrier, ensuring that the telescope and two instruments remain optically aligned. With the electronics box—the brain of the telescope—installed inside the spaceship, Roman will launch by May 2027.

NASA Goddard's telescope manager, J. Scott Smith, congratulated the team on their impressive achievement, stating it marks the end of an epoch and an incredible journey, advancing technology and sparking the imagination of star exploration.

Eventually, the telescope, which will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, can advance the search for habitable planets and increase our understanding of the universe.

Read more news:

COP29: A Global Race to Save the Climate Amid Political and Financial Challenges

Japanese scientists Bet on an Ancient Material: Wood, for their New Satellite

Mobily Launches the First Saudi Undersea Cable in Collaboration with Telecom Egypt