NASA has chosen SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch its next large space telescope, a wide-field observatory that should directly complement the new James Webb Space Telescope.
Originally known as the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), NASA recently renamed the mission in honor of Nancy Grace Roman, a key force behind the Hubble Space Telescope. Fittingly, the basic design of the Roman Space Telescope is reminiscent of Hubble in many ways, given the fact that the mission exists only because the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) chose to donate a satellite. An unused multibillion dollar spy – a satellite that was actually a secret Earth-facing version of Hubble.
However, thanks to decades of improvements in the electronics, electromechanical, and instrumentation aspect of spacecraft and space telescopes, the RST will be far more capable than the Hubble telescope that resembles it. And now, following years of fighting for survival, the Roman space telescope has officially gone into space – SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket.
The Falcon Heavy continues to be a bit of a contradiction, winning contract following decade to launch a larger and larger flagship, despite not having launched once in more than three years. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, at this point, as major missions increasingly being awarded to the Falcon Heavy are likely to encounter significant delays on the spacecraft side. Sometime in late 2021, for example, SpaceX had five The launch dates for the Falcon Heavy are tentatively set for 2022 – all but one have already been delayed by months to a year or more. Seven months into 2022, none of these missions have launched, and it seems increasingly likely that the Falcon Heavy will get a chance to fly all this year.
However, the Romanian Space Telescope joins an impressive statement that includes the multi-billion dollar GOES-U weather satellite, NASA’s Europa Clipper, two modules (HALO and PPE) for a spacecraft station in lunar orbit, and the Psyche asteroid explorer. For NASA, a large Astrobotic Griffin lander carries a NASA Fiber Moon lander, two large geostationary communications satellites, and three US Army missions. RST is the contract for the eleventh launch of the missile by mid-2020.
Despite similar analysis power, the RST’s main wide-field instrument will have a field of view 100 times larger than Hubble’s, which means the new telescope will be able to collect Sizes More data at the same time. for him Main objectives They include measuring “light from a billion galaxies over the life of the mission” and performing a “micro-lens survey of the inner Milky Way to find approximately 2,600 exoplanets”. A second corona-shaped instrument “will perform high-contrast imaging and spectroscopic analysis of dozens of nearby exoplanets.” according to Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCoronagraph is a crucial stepping stone in preparation for future missions aimed at [directly] Depicts and distinguishes Earth-like planets [that are] 10 billion times dimmer than their host star.
According to NASA, “The telescope science program also includes custom questionnaires to solve outstanding questions. [regarding the nature and] The effects of dark energy and dark matter, as well as a large public research program to enable further studies of astrophysical phenomena to advance other scientific goals.
Since the RST also focuses on infrared wavelengths of light, it might be a great companion to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). While the RST is a wide-field observatory aimed at observing and cataloging billions of galaxies, stars and planets, the larger JWST mirror is optimal for close-up observation of single targets or deep gazes in small groups of sky. The RST can eventually work like an MRI or CT scan of a JWST biopsy, telling the surgeon where to look but only what he might find.
According to NASA, the space telescope’s Falcon Heavy launch contract will cost nearly $4.3 billion an unusually high $255 million to send the spacecraft to Sun-Earth Lagrange Point L2 800,000 kilometers (regarding 500,000 miles) from Earth. NASA contract The launch of the more expensive Europa Clipper spacecraft to Jupiter using a fully expendable Falcon Heavy rocket is expected to cost less than $180 million.
from NASA press release It also claims that RST will be ready for launch in October 2026. Other press release In September 2021 he did not mention the 2026 target and only indicated that the launch of the RST is planned for a number later May 2027.
