{"id":12325,"date":"2024-10-28T12:07:39","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T16:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-successfully-integrates-coronagraph-for-roman-space-telescope\/"},"modified":"2024-10-28T12:07:39","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T16:07:39","slug":"nasa-successfully-integrates-coronagraph-for-roman-space-telescope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-successfully-integrates-coronagraph-for-roman-space-telescope\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Successfully Integrates Coronagraph for Roman Space Telescope"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA Successfully Integrates Coronagraph for Roman Space Telescope<\/h2>\n

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6 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Roman Coronagraph is integrated with the Instrument Carrier for NASA\u2019s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in a clean room at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in October 2024.<\/div>\n
NASA\/Sydney Rohde<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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NASA\u2019s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully completed integration of the Roman Coronagraph Instrument onto Roman\u2019s Instrument Carrier, a piece of infrastructure that will hold the mission\u2019s instruments, which will be integrated onto the larger spacecraft at a later date. The Roman Coronagraph is a technology demonstration that scientists will use to take an important step in the search for habitable worlds, and eventually life beyond Earth.<\/p>\n

This integration took place at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where the space telescope is located and in development. This milestone follows the coronagraph\u2019s arrival at the center earlier this year<\/a> from NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California where the instrument was developed, built, and tested.<\/p>\n

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In a clean room at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in October 2023, scientist Vanessa Bailey stands behind the Roman Coronagraph, which has been undergoing testing at the lab. Designed to block starlight and allow scientists to see the faint light from planets outside our solar system, the Coronagraph is a technology demonstration that will be part of the Roman telescope.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Roman Coronagraph Instrument is a technology demonstration that will launch aboard the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope<\/a>, NASA\u2019s next flagship astrophysics mission. Roman will have a field of view at least 100 times larger than the agency\u2019s Hubble Space Telescope and explore scientific mysteries surrounding dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics. Roman is expected to launch no later than May 2027.<\/p>\n

The mission\u2019s coronagraph is designed to make direct observations of exoplanets, or planets outside of our solar system, by using a complex suite of masks and active mirrors to obscure the glare of the planets\u2019 host stars, making the planets visible. Being a technology demonstration means that the coronagraph\u2019s goal is to test this technology in space and showcase its capabilities. The Roman Coronagraph is poised to act as a technological stepping stone, enabling future technologies on missions like NASA\u2019s proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory<\/a>, which would be the first telescope designed specifically to search for signs of life on exoplanets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to get from where we are to where we want to be, we need the Roman Coronagraph to demonstrate this technology,\u201d said Rob Zellem, Roman Space Telescope deputy project scientist for communications at NASA Goddard. \u201cWe\u2019ll be applying those lessons learned to the next generation of NASA flagship missions that will be explicitly designed to look for Earth-like planets.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A team member works underneath the Instrument Carrier for Roman during the integration of the Coronagraph in a clean room at NASA Goddard in October 2024.<\/div>\n
NASA\/Sydney Rohde<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A Major Mission Milestone<\/strong><\/p>\n

The coronagraph was successfully integrated into Roman\u2019s Instrument Carrier, a large grid-like structure that sits between the space telescope\u2019s primary mirror and spacecraft bus, which will deliver the telescope to orbit and enable the telescope\u2019s functionality upon arrival in space. Assembly of the mission\u2019s spacecraft bus was completed<\/a> in September 2024.<\/p>\n

The Instrument Carrier will hold both the coronagraph and Roman\u2019s Wide Field Instrument, the mission\u2019s primary science instrument, which is set to be integrated later this year along with the Roman telescope itself. \u201cYou can think of [the Instrument Carrier] as the skeleton of the observatory, what everything interfaces to,\u201d said Brandon Creager, lead mechanical engineer for the Roman Coronagraph at JPL.<\/p>\n

The integration process began months ago with mission teams from across NASA coming together to plan the maneuver. Additionally, after its arrival at NASA Goddard, mission teams ran tests to prepare the coronagraph to be joined to the spacecraft bus.<\/p>\n

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The Instrument Carrier for Roman is lifted during the integration of the Coronagraph in October 2024 at NASA Goddard.<\/div>\n
NASA\/Sydney Rohde<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

During the integration itself, the coronagraph, which is roughly the size and shape of a baby grand piano (measuring about 5.5 feet or 1.7 meters across), was mounted onto the Instrument Carrier using what\u2019s called the Horizontal Integration Tool.<\/p>\n

First, a specialized adapter developed at JPL was attached to the instrument, and then the Horizontal Integration Tool was attached to the adapter. The tool acts as a moveable counterweight, so the instrument was suspended from the tool as it was carefully moved into its final position in the Instrument Carrier. Then, the attached Horizontal Integration Tool and adapter were removed from the coronagraph. The Horizontal Integration Tool previously has been used for integrations on NASA\u2019s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope.<\/p>\n

As part of the integration process, engineers also ensured blanketing layers were in place to insulate the coronagraph within its place in the Instrument Carrier. The coronagraph is designed to operate at room temperature, so insulation is critical to keep the instrument at the right temperature in the cold vacuum of space. This insulation also will provide an additional boundary to block stray light that could otherwise obscure observations.<\/p>\n

Following this successful integration, engineers will perform different checks and tests to ensure that everything is connected properly and is correctly aligned before moving forward to integrate the Wide Field Instrument and the telescope itself. Successful alignment of the Roman Coronagraph\u2019s optics is critical to the instrument\u2019s success in orbit.<\/p>\n

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Team members stand together during the integration of the Roman Coronagraph in a clean room at NASA Goddard in October 2024. <\/div>\n
NASA\/Sydney Rohde<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This latest mission milestone is the culmination of an enduring collaboration between a number of Roman partners, but especially between NASA Goddard and NASA JPL.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really rewarding to watch these teams come together and build up the Roman observatory. That\u2019s the result of a lot of teams, long hours, hard work, sweat, and tears,\u201d said Liz Daly, the integrated payload assembly integration and test lead for Roman at Goddard.<\/p>\n

\u201cSupport and trust were shared across both teams \u2026 we were all just one team,\u201d said Gasia Bedrosian, the integration and test lead for the Roman Coronagraph at JPL. Following the integration, \u201cwe celebrated our success together,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The Roman Coronagraph Instrument was designed and built at NASA JPL, which manages the instrument for NASA. Contributions were made by ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), the French space agency CNES (Centre National d\u2019\u00c9tudes Spatiales), and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany. Caltech, in Pasadena, California, manages NASA JPL for the agency. The Roman Science Support Center at Caltech\/IPAC partners with NASA JPL on data management for the Coronagraph and generating the instrument\u2019s commands.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tVirtually tour an interactive version of the telescope<\/span>
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The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

By Chelsea Gohd
NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Lab<\/a>, Pasadena, Calif.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u200b\u200bMedia Contact:
Claire Andreoli
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
<\/em><\/strong>NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-1940<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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