{"id":249432,"date":"2025-07-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=885562"},"modified":"2025-07-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T14:00:00","slug":"nasas-roman-space-telescope-team-installs-observatorys-solar-panels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=249432","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Roman Space Telescope Team Installs Observatory\u2019s Solar Panels"},"content":{"rendered":"

On June 14 and 16, technicians installed solar panels onto NASA\u2019s 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\u2019s observations and helping keep the instruments cool.<\/p>\n

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\"Roman<\/a><\/figure>
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In this photo, technicians install solar panels onto the outer portion of NASA\u2019s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Roman\u2019s inner portion is in the background just left of center. By the end of the year, technicians plan to connect the two halves and complete the Roman observatory. <\/div>\n
Credit: NASA\/Sydney Rohde<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAt this point, the observatory is about 90% complete,\u201d said Jack Marshall, the Solar Array Sun Shield lead at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. \u201cWe just need to join two large assemblies, and then we\u2019ll run the whole Roman observatory through a series of tests. We\u2019re currently on track for launch several months earlier than the promised date of no later than May 2027.\u201d The team is working toward launch as early as fall 2026.<\/p>\n

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Over the course of two days, eight technicians installed Roman's solar panels onto the outer portion of NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Each of the six panels is about 23 by 33 feet (7 by 10 meters), fitted with photovoltaic cells which will harness energy from sunlight to power the observatory. The solar panels were designed, built, and installed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Credit: NASA\/Sophia Roberts<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a> (the observatory\u2019s outer shell) while the other four will deploy once Roman is in space, swinging up to align with the center panels.<\/p>\n

The panels will spend the entirety of the mission facing the Sun to provide a steady supply of power to the observatory\u2019s 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\u2019s own components would saturate the detectors and effectively blind the telescope.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/a><\/figure>
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The solar panels on NASA\u2019s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope are covered in a total of 3,902 solar cells that will convert sunlight directly into electricity much like plants convert sunlight to chemical energy. When tiny bits of light, called photons, strike the cells, some of their energy transfers to electrons within the material. This jolt excites the electrons, which start moving more or jump to higher energy levels. In a solar cell, excited electrons create electricity by breaking free and moving through a circuit, sort of like water flowing through a pipe. The panels are designed to channel that energy to power the observatory.<\/div>\n
Credit: NASA\/Sydney Rohde<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cNow that the panels have been installed, the outer portion of the Roman observatory is complete,\u201d said Goddard\u2019s Aaron Vigil, a mechanical engineer working on the array. Next, technicians will test deploy the solar panels and the observatory\u2019s \u201cvisor\u201d (the deployable aperture cover<\/a>). The team is also testing the core portion<\/a> of the observatory, assessing the electronics and conducting a thermal vacuum test to ensure the system operates as planned in the harsh space environment.<\/p>\n

This will keep the project on track to connect Roman\u2019s inner and outer segments in November, resulting in a whole observatory by the end of the year that can then undergo pre-launch tests.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/a><\/figure>
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Now that the solar panels are installed on the outer portion of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, technicians are readying the assembly for vibration testing to ensure it will withstand the extreme shaking experienced during launch.<\/div>\n
Credit: NASA\/Sydney Rohde<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To virtually tour an interactive version of the telescope, visit: https:\/\/roman.gsfc.nasa.gov\/interactive\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Download high-resolution video and images from NASA\u2019s Scientific Visualization Studio<\/a><\/p>\n

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope<\/a> is managed at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

By Ashley Balzer<\/strong>
NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/strong><\/a>, Greenbelt, Md.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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