12.07.2025
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Team Installs Observatory’s Solar Panels
On June 14 and 16, technicians installed solar panels onto NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, one of the final steps in assembling the observatory. Collectively called the Solar Array Sun Shield, these panels will power and shade the observatory, enabling all the mission’s observations and helping keep the instruments cool.
“At this point, the observatory is about 90% complete,” said Jack Marshall, the Solar Array Sun Shield lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We just need to join two large assemblies, and then we’ll run the whole Roman observatory through a series of tests. We’re currently on track for launch several months earlier than the promised date of no later than May 2027.” The team is working toward launch as early as fall 2026.
The Solar Array Sun Shield is made up of six panels, each covered in solar cells. The two central panels will remain fixed to the outer barrel assembly (the observatory’s outer shell) while the other four will deploy once Roman is in space, swinging up to align with the center panels.
The panels will spend the entirety of the mission facing the Sun to provide a steady supply of power to the observatory’s electronics. This orientation will also shade much of the observatory and help keep the instruments cool, which is critical for an infrared observatory. Since infrared light is detectable as heat, excess warmth from the spacecraft’s own components would saturate the detectors and effectively blind the telescope.
“Now that the panels have been installed, the outer portion of the Roman observatory is complete,” said Goddard’s Aaron Vigil, a mechanical engineer working on the array. Next, technicians will test deploy the solar panels and the observatory’s “visor” (the deployable aperture cover). The team is also testing the core portion of the observatory, assessing the electronics and conducting a thermal vacuum test to ensure the system operates as planned in the harsh space environment.
This will keep the project on track to connect Roman’s inner and outer segments in November, resulting in a whole observatory by the end of the year that can then undergo pre-launch tests.
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 in Southern California; Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, 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.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 2.08.2025
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NASA Installs Key ‘Sunblock’ Shield on Roman Space Telescope
Technicians have successfully installed two sunshields onto NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s inner segment. Along with the observatory’s Solar Array Sun Shield and Deployable Aperture Cover, the panels (together called the Lower Instrument Sun Shade), will play a critical role in keeping Roman’s instruments cool and stable as the mission explores the infrared universe.
The team is on track to join Roman’s outer and inner assemblies this fall to complete the full observatory, which can then undergo further prelaunch testing.
“This shield is like an extremely strong sunblock for Roman’s sensitive instruments, protecting them from heat and light from the Sun that would otherwise overwhelm our ability to detect faint signals from space,” said Matthew Stephens, an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The sunshade, which was designed and engineered at NASA Goddard, is essentially an extension of Roman’s solar panels, except without solar cells. Each sunshade flap is roughly the size of a garage door — about 7 by 7 feet (2.1 by 2.1 meters) — and 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) thick.
“They’re basically giant aluminum sandwiches, with metal sheets as thin as a credit card on the top and bottom and the central portion made up of a honeycomb structure,” said Conrad Mason, an aerospace engineer at NASA Goddard.
This design makes the panels lightweight yet stiff, and the material helps limit heat transfer from the side facing the Sun to the back—no small feat considering the front will be hot enough to boil water (up to 216 degrees Fahrenheit, or 102 degrees Celsius) while the back will be much colder than Antarctica’s harshest winter (minus 211 Fahrenheit, or minus 135 Celsius). A specialized polymer film blanket will wrap around each panel to temper the heat, with 17 layers on the Sun side and one on the shaded side.
The sunshade will be stowed and gently deploy around an hour after launch.
“The deploying mechanisms have dampers that work like soft-close hinges for drawers or cabinets, so the panels won’t slam open and rattle the observatory,” Stephens said. “They each take about two minutes to move into their final positions. This is the very first system that Roman will deploy in space after the spacecraft separates from the launch vehicle.”
Now completely assembled, Roman’s inner segment is slated to undergo a 70-day thermal vacuum test next. Engineers and scientists will test the full functionality of the spacecraft, telescope, and instruments under simulated space conditions. Following the test, the sunshade will be temporarily removed while the team joins Roman’s outer and inner assemblies, and then reattached to complete the observatory. The mission remains on track for launch no later than May 2027 with the team aiming for as early as fall 2026.
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 in Southern California; Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, 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.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 13.08.2025
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NASA's Roman Space Telescope gets its 'extremely strong sunblock' installed
The milestone comes about during a time of uncertainty for NASA due to Trump's effort to reduce the agency's science budget by huge amounts.
Technicians installing two sunshields onto NASA's nearly complete Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on July 17. (Image credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts)
In a major step forward for one of NASA's most anticipated space observatories, engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, have successfully installed two sunshields on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
"This shield is like an extremely strong sunblock for Roman's sensitive instruments, protecting them from heat and light from the sun that would otherwise overwhelm our ability to detect faint signals from space," Matthew Stephens, an aerospace engineer at NASA Goddard, said in a statement.
The milestone is of note, considering how recent federal budget proposals could pose serious risks to Roman's future and its timeline for launch. Trump's budgetrequest for fiscal year 2026 calls for sweeping cuts to NASA funding. These reductions threaten to delay or even cancel high-profile science missions, including Roman, which has already faced earlier funding uncertainties.
While Roman is currently on track for launch by May 2027, with a target as early as fall 2026, the proposed cuts could disrupt integration, testing and mission operations if enacted. Scientists and engineers warn that continued budget instability may undermine decades of planning and investment in Roman, a flagship observatory designed to unlock major cosmic mysteries — from dark energy to exoplanet intricacies. Congressional efforts to restore funding are underway, but the telescope's future may hinge on whether lawmakers succeed in reversing the proposed cuts.
However, it would appear that scientists are continuing to work on the telescope as though it will be completed just as planned to begin with.
These two newly installed panels — part of the Lower Instrument Sun Shade — join the telescope's Solar Array Sun Shield and Deployable Aperture Cover, forming a protective barrier that will keep Roman’s instruments cool and stable as it peers deep into the infrared universe.
Each panel is about 7 by 7 feet (2.1 by 2.1 meters), and 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) thick. "They’re basically giant aluminum sandwiches, with metal sheets as thin as a credit card on the top and bottom and the central portion made up of a honeycomb structure," Conrad Mason, an aerospace engineer at NASA Goddard, said in the statement.
The panels are lightweight yet rigid, minimizing heat transfer from the sun-facing side, which can reach temperatures of up to 216°F (102°C), to the shaded side, which can plunge to –211°F (–135°C). Each panel is wrapped in a specialized polymer blanket, fitted with 17 layers on the sun-facing side and a single one on the cold side to help regulate temperature.
The last piece in Roman's inner segment assembly, this portion of the telescope will now a series of rigorous evaluations to ensure it can withstand the harsh conditions of space — most notably a 70-day thermal vacuum test, where the assembly will be exposed to extreme temperatures and a vacuum environment to simulate the conditions it will face once launched.
After testing wraps up, the sunshade will be briefly removed to allow engineers to join Roman’s inner and outer assemblies—a key step toward completing the full observatory. Once reattached, Roman will be nearly ready for launch.
Quelle: SC