Roman telescope deploys solar array and communication systems, powers on Coronagraph Instrument

Date:
Thu, 10 Sep 2026 22:24:00 +0000

Description:
NASAs Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope successfully launched on Sunday, Aug. 30, atop a SpaceX The post Roman telescope deploys solar array and communication systems, powers on Coronagraph Instrument appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

NASAs Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope successfully launched on Sunday, Aug. 30, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. While the telescope still has several weeks of travel before
reaching its orbital destination at the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2 (L2),
teams have been busy commissioning the telescope activating communications systems, bringing instruments online, and more.



Romans launch on Falcon Heavy which came nine months ahead of schedule and on-budget occurred at 7:26 AM EDT (11:26 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A). Weather had been a significant concern for launch, with pre-launch forecasts from the 45th Weather Squadron giving the mission a 50% chance of launch. Fortunately, this forecast improved to 70% go around two hours before launch, paving the way for what was ultimately a smooth countdown and launch.



Following booster separation and center core separation, the fairings encapsulating Roman separated, exposing the telescope to the vacuum of space for the first time. While the two side boosters returned to land at SpaceXs Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) and Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40), Roman teams worked to establish communications with the telescope, as fairing separation provided their first opportunity to do so.

A satellite within NASAs Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) successfully acquired Romans communications signal at 7:33 AM EDT (11:33
UTC), approximately seven minutes after launch. TDRSS was not planned to sustain Romans communications for long, as NASAs Near Space Network and Deep Space Network took over to handle science data transmission and telescope trajectory tracking, respectively. The European Space Agencys New Norcia ground station and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agencys Misasa ground station will also support Romans communications with Earth once it reaches
L2.

After an additional burn by the Falcon Heavy second stage, Roman was deployed at 7:57 AM EDT (11:57 UTC), beginning its 1.5 million km journey to L2. Approximately 30 minutes after deployment, Roman commanded its Solar Array
Sun Shield to deploy, providing the telescope with power and thermal management. The four movable panels of the Solar Array Sun Shield were successfully deployed, and teams later confirmed that the observatory was quickly power-positive. Roman is deployed from Falcon Heavys second stage following launch. (Credit: NASA)

Roman then coasted toward L2 for over a day, until the first of the two planned mid-course correction burns was executed at 12:02 PM EDT (16:02 UTC) on Aug. 31. The three-minute burn ensured Roman was on the proper trajectory to L2. See Also Roman Space Telescope Updates Space Science Coverage NSF
Store Click here to Join L2

Later that day, the telescopes high-gain antenna was successfully deployed at 2:03 PM EDT (18:03 UTC) over a four-minute deployment sequence. Constructed from a carbon composite material and massing around 11 kg with a diameter of 1.71 m, Romans high-gain antenna will allow the telescope to downlink the highest volume of data of any NASA astrophysics mission to date. A dual-band antenna, the high-gain antenna will use one frequency to receive commands
from Earth and send information about telescope health and location back to Earth. The other frequency will be used to transmit observation data at rates of up to 500 megabits per second.

The following day, on Sept. 1, Romans deployable aperture cover was deployed. The eight-minute deployment completed at 6:05 AM EDT (10:05 UTC), with three spring-loaded booms being commanded to extend upward and away from the telescopes mirror assembly opening. The shade will block unwanted light like light from the Sun, Earth, or the Moon from reaching Romans mirror, ensuring observations are clear and useful.

The deployment of the aperture cover marked the final physical subsystem deployment for the telescope, with the remaining commissioning activities involving the activation of Romans two instruments: the Wide Field Instrument (WFI) and the Coronagraph Instrument (CGI). The WFI and CGI are located
within the telescope bus itself and thus do not require any external deployments. (Caption: Animation showing the deployment of the deployable aperture cover. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab)

Just an hour and a half after the aperture cover deployment, Roman teams
began activating the CGI. Power-on began at 7:27 AM EDT (11:27 UTC) and
lasted for 55 minutes, concluding at 8:22 AM EDT (12:22 UTC). The first major task following CGI activation is called coronagraph decontamination, a
process that prevents outgassing molecules and dust from the telescope from coating the CGIs precise optical systems. The decontamination period lasts until around 12 days after launch.

Once the CGI decontamination period wraps up, Roman teams will activate and begin cooling down the WFI. The WFI cool down will last until about T+15
days, after which teams will conduct normal commissioning activities for both the WFI and CGI until T+26 days.

From T+27 to T+42 days, the two instruments will undergo focusing and alignment procedures, with alignment expected over a two-day period from T+32 to T+33 days. Finally, from T+43 days until the telescopes arrival at L2, Romans science teams will calibrate the WFI and CGI and confirm that the data they are receiving from the telescope is scientifically usable. A brief three-day period from T+73 to T+76 days will be used to characterize and calibrate the telescopes reaction wheels, allowing the telescope to point itself.

Roman is expected to insert itself into orbit at L2 around 100 days after launch, concluding a 1.5 million km journey. According to Romans team, observations are expected to begin almost immediately upon reaching L2,
thanks to the telescopes well-planned and assumedly well-executed commissioning period.

(Lead image: Artists impression of Roman testing its reaction wheels.
Credit: NASA)



The post Roman telescope deploys solar array and communication systems,
powers on Coronagraph Instrument appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/09/roman-commissioning-update/


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