NASA Nears Completion of Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: A New Era in Space Exploration Awaits

Jakarta – NASA revealed that they have almost finished building the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. On Thursday, November 7, NASA received the assembled optical telescope.

This optical telescope is a combination of a 2.4 meter main mirror, nine additional mirrors, as well as structures and supports. This assembly was delivered to the Goddard Space Flight Center, one of NASA’s research centers, to be placed in a clean room.

The assembly combining the optics and primary mirror was designed and developed by L3Harris Technologies, and the components were supplied by the US National Exhibition Organization (NRO). The design and execution of these assemblies must meet Romanian specifications.

“The team at Goddard worked closely with L3Harris to ensure that these strict requirements were met and that the telescope assembly would integrate seamlessly with the rest of the Roman observatory,” NASA said in its latest report.

The US space agency said the design and performance of each part of the telescope can determine the quality of the mission’s results. Therefore, the process of manufacturing and testing optical telescopes must be done strictly.

“Each optical component was tested individually before being assembled and evaluated together earlier this year. The test helped ensure that the telescope’s mirror alignment would change as expected when the telescope its operating temperature in space,” NASA explained.

Now, this optical telescope assembly will be mounted on the carrier, a device that holds the telescope and its two instruments in line with the optics. This assembly will be installed inside the spacecraft along with other electronic devices.

With the smooth development of the Romanian telescope so far, NASA is confident that this space laboratory will be launched in May 2027. While in space, this telescope will reveal the greatest secrets of the universe, namely dark energy and dark matter.