NASA launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, deploying its latest flagship astrophysics observatory. Its primary science payload, the Wide Field Instrument, incorporates an Opto-Mechanical Assembly designed and developed by BAE Systems.
The Wide Field Instrument will offer a field of view at least 100 times greater than that of the Hubble Space Telescope. That capability will allow scientists to survey the sky up to 1,000 times faster, according to BAE Systems.
The Opto-Mechanical Assembly provides the structural stability and controlled thermal environment needed for the instrument to meet its performance requirements. It includes the optical bench, precision mechanisms, optics, electronics and thermal-control system, with BAE Systems also handling assembly integration and testing.
“Today’s launch of the Roman Space Telescope marks a significant achievement for furthering astrophysics discoveries,” said Bonnie Patterson, vice president and general manager of Civil Space for BAE Systems. “Roman will provide unparalleled views of the cosmos, helping to further advance our knowledge of the universe, the physics of our galaxy and the demographics of exoplanets.”
Roman is expected to observe billions of cosmic objects as scientists examine how planets, stars and galaxies form and develop. Its wide-field capability will support large-scale surveys of the universe and research into planets beyond the solar system.
BAE Systems has contributed to every NASA astrophysics flagship mission, including the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. The company said technologies shared across the programs have supported successive generations of scientific instruments and decades of space research.
The company is also working on early technology studies for NASA’s proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory, which is being considered as the agency’s next astrophysics flagship mission. Its Ultra-Stable Large Telescope Research and Analysis work is developing a mirror actuation system capable of picometer-level control to improve optical stability.
The proposed observatory would image Earth-like planets orbiting other stars and search for signs of life. It would also study stars, planets in the solar system, distant galaxies and the evolution of the universe with greater sensitivity and resolution.