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By NASA
The telescope and instruments for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope were recently integrated together on the observatory’s instrument carrier at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Next, the entire system will be joined to the Roman spacecraft. NASA/Chris Gunn NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully integrated the mission’s telescope and two instruments onto the instrument carrier, marking the completion of the Roman payload. Now the team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will begin joining the payload to the spacecraft.
“We’re in the middle of an exciting stage of mission preparation,” said Jody Dawson, a Roman systems engineer at NASA Goddard. “All the components are now here at Goddard, and they’re coming together in quick succession. We expect to integrate the telescope and instruments with the spacecraft before the year is up.”
Engineers first integrated the Coronagraph Instrument, a technology demonstration designed to image exoplanets — worlds outside our solar system — by using a complex suite of masks and active mirrors to obscure the glare of the planets’ host stars.
Then the team integrated the Optical Telescope Assembly, which includes a 7.9-foot (2.4-meter) primary mirror, nine additional mirrors, and their supporting structures and electronics. The telescope will focus cosmic light and send it to Roman’s instruments, revealing billions of objects strewn throughout space and time. Roman will be the most stable large telescope ever built, at least 10 times more so than NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and 100 times more than the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope. This will allow scientists to make measurements at levels of precision that can answer important questions about dark energy, dark matter, and worlds beyond our solar system.
Technicians install the primary instrument for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, called the Wide Field Instrument (at left), in the biggest clean room at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. This marked the final step to complete the Roman payload, which also includes a Coronagraph instrument and the Optical Telescope Assembly.NASA/Chris Gunn With those components in place, the team then added Roman’s primary instrument. Called the Wide Field Instrument, this 300-megapixel infrared camera will give Roman a deep, panoramic view of the universe. Through the Wide Field Instrument’s surveys, scientists will be able to explore distant exoplanets, stars, galaxies, black holes, dark energy, dark matter, and more. Thanks to this instrument and the observatory’s efficiency, Roman will be able to image large areas of the sky 1,000 times faster than Hubble with the same sharp, sensitive image quality.
“It would be quicker to list the astronomy topics Roman won’t be able to address than those it will,” said Julie McEnery, the Roman senior project scientist at NASA Goddard. “We’ve never had a tool like this before. Roman will revolutionize the way we do astronomy.”
The telescope and instruments were mounted to Roman’s instrument carrier and precisely aligned in the largest clean room at Goddard, where the observatory is being assembled. Now, the whole assembly is being attached to the Roman spacecraft, which will deliver the observatory to its orbit and enable it to function once there.
At the same time, the mission’s deployable aperture cover — a visor that will shield the telescope from unwanted light — is being joined to the outer barrel assembly, which serves as the telescope’s exoskeleton.
“We’ve had an incredible year, and we’re looking forward to another one!” said Bear Witherspoon, a Roman systems engineer at NASA Goddard. “While the payload and spacecraft undergo a smattering of testing together, the team will work toward integrating the solar panels onto the outer barrel assembly.”
That keeps the observatory on track for completion by fall 2026 and launch no later than May 2027.
To virtually tour an interactive version of the telescope, visit:
https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/interactive
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech/IPAC in Southern California, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and a science team comprising scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems Inc. in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California.
By Ashley Balzer
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
301-286-1940
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Last Updated Dec 12, 2024 EditorAshley BalzerContactAshley Balzerashley.m.balzer@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Dark Energy Dark Matter Exoplanets Galaxies Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Stars The Universe Explore More
6 min read Primary Instrument for Roman Space Telescope Arrives at NASA Goddard
Article 4 months ago 6 min read NASA Successfully Integrates Coronagraph for Roman Space Telescope
Article 1 month ago 5 min read Telescope for NASA’s Roman Mission Complete, Delivered to Goddard
Article 4 weeks ago View the full article
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By Space Force
The Space Force senior leader highlighted the ever-changing landscape of developing partnerships in the space domain.
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By NASA
NASA Astronauts (from left) Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Loral O’Hara take photographs of Earth from inside the cupola aboard space station.Credit: NASA That’s a wrap! Astronauts aboard the International Space Station conducted hundreds of science experiments and technology demonstrations during 2024. Crew members participated in research across a variety of scientific disciplines and accomplished milestones demonstrating benefits for future missions and humanity back on Earth. Their work included snapping thousands of images of Earth to understand our planet’s changing landscape, bioprinting cardiac tissues to validate technology for organ manufacturing in space, and studying physical phenomena that could improve drug delivery systems and technology for plant growth in reduced gravity.
This new image gallery showcases dozens of awe-inspiring photos and includes details about the research benefits of the state-of-the-art science happening aboard space station.
Discover the best science images of 2024 from your orbiting lab.
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
International Space Station
Space Station Research and Technology
Humans In Space
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By NASA
NASA’s podcasts let you experience the thrill of space exploration without ever leaving Earth.Credit: NASA NASA’s audio storytelling reached new frontiers in 2024, with Spotify Wrapped revealing the agency’s podcasts as a favorite among listeners worldwide. In celebration of the milestone, NASA astronaut Nick Hague spoke with Spotify about what space sounded like this year.
“Music is one of those things that connects us to the planet,” said Hague, in the video released on Spotify and NASA social accounts. “Music is a vital part of life up here. The soundtrack up here, it’s just going all the time. Everybody’s got their own flavor of music. Every Friday night the crew gets together, we turn on music and we stream things that we like. Whether they’re into pop or hard rock, it’s an international mix. When I think of space walks, I think of classical music, slow, methodical tunes, because that is the way that we conduct spacewalks. Slowly and methodically. Classical music captures the essence of, just floating in space.”
With listeners in more than 100 countries, NASA podcasts reached new audiences and inspired people around the world on Spotify this year. Other 2024 highlights included:
Ranked as a top choice for thousands of listeners seeking to learn about science and space. Spent a combined 37 weeks in Spotify’s top charts for science podcasts. The top streamed podcast was “NASA’s Curious Universe”, and the top streamed episode was “A Year in Mars Dune Alpha.” “We’re thrilled to have our space-centric content featured in Spotify Wrapped 2024,” said Brittany Brown, director of digital communications, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Our collaboration with Spotify is a testament to NASA’s commitment to producing innovative and engaging content. We’re excited to see how audiences continue to respond to this unique listening experience only NASA can provide.”
The agency’s podcasts cover a wide range of topics, including in-depth conversations with NASA astronauts, stories that take audiences on a tour of the galaxy, and Spanish-language content.
“Music, just like space, connects us all,” said Katie Konans, audio program lead, eMITS contract with NASA. “Our partnership with Spotify has allowed NASA to share the wonder and excitement of space with music and podcast lovers globally. This year, we’re thrilled to take this connection to new heights by bringing the Spotify Wrapped 2024 conversation beyond planet Earth.”
NASA released its collection of original podcasts on Spotify in 2023, furthering the agency’s mission to engage the Artemis Generation in the science, space exploration, and discovery.
In addition to Spotify, users may find NASA podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Soundcloud.
Discover all of NASA’s podcasts at:
https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts
-end-
Abbey Donaldson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
abbey.a.donaldson@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Dec 10, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Podcasts Astronauts International Space Station (ISS) ISS Research NASA Headquarters Social Media View the full article
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By Space Force
As the U.S. Space Force prepares to celebrate its fifth birthday, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman reflected on the organization's remarkable journey and outlined the six core truths that shape the Guardian identity and the service’s purpose.
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