NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Flying on Its Own

NASA Science reports that the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has cleared the SpaceX Falcon Heavy’s second stage and is now flying on its own. The observatory established contact with a NASA tracking satellite at seven fifty six a.m. EDT and separated at seven fifty eight a.m., after which mission control will keep a close eye on its journey toward the second Sun‑Earth Lagrange point, about one million miles from Earth. In the next half hour the spacecraft will unfold its solar array sun shield, which both powers the telescope and serves as a thermal shield for the trip. As it approaches L2, the Near Space Network and Deep Space Network will handle data transmission and precise tracking, respectively, with additional support from ESA and JAXA ground stations.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton