NASA’s Roman Observatory Passes Final Major Prelaunch Tests

The team at NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope recently blasted the observatory with extreme sound, shook it, and listened to its electronic buzz. Roman passed all three assessments, which were intended to confirm that the observatory would withstand launch conditions and perform as intended in space. This feat keeps the mission on track for launch as early as this fall.

“All testing has gone smoothly and progress is well ahead of schedule,” said Jack Marshall, Roman Observatory integration and testing manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The team has done an excellent job setting up the observatory and testing shows that everything is as expected. »

In January, the team installed an absorber panel around the observatory for an electromagnetic interference test. This special configuration is designed to block external radio signals and absorb reflections inside the test facility.

The engineers powered up all of Roman’s electronics and measured the signals they generated, closely monitoring for any errors. Too much electrical noise could interfere with the observatory’s ability to detect faint infrared signals, but Roman succeeded with flying colors.

The team moved on to vibration testing in February. “Each time the observatory traveled between test facilities, it was placed in a custom-built portable clean room to protect it from any contamination that might otherwise compromise scientific performance once in space,” said Joel Proebstle, a mechanical systems engineer who led vibration and acoustic testing at NASA Goddard.

Engineers tested the observatory on a large shaking table to simulate the vibrations it will experience during launch, gradually increasing toward higher frequencies. “Try to imagine sitting on this rocket and feeling all these vibrations,” said Cory Powell, lead Roman structural analyst at NASA Goddard. “We simulated the shaking that the launcher will produce to ensure that components and connections will remain intact.”

At the beginning of March, the team carried out an acoustic test. The test took place in a state-of-the-art sound booth, where engineers increased the volume to 138 decibels, about as loud as a jet engine from 100 feet away.

“If you’ve ever been to a concert with extremely loud bass, that charge you felt was acoustic energy,” Powell said. “Now think about the sound of a launch. The acoustics can produce very high loads on a large structure like Roman.”

Roman is now back in Goddard’s large clean room where he will undergo one final round of smaller tests. The next one aims to replicate the shock Roman will experience shortly after launch when the observatory separates from the rocket. Next, the team will deploy all the elements that will initially be stowed (including the solar panels, the “visor”, the antenna and the “sunshade” shield), to verify that they will still function properly even after launch and separation from the rocket.

In early summer, the observatory will be transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch preparations. There, engineers will verify that the observatory has arrived fully intact and begin preparing the rocket – a SpaceX Falcon Heavy. The team expects Roman to be ready for launch a few months after the observatory arrives at NASA Kennedy.

“We have a great team, great leadership and, through our successful testing, we continue to set the standard for staying on budget and on schedule while balancing difficult challenges,” Powell said. “Meeting commitments in terms of costs and deadlines without compromising on technical standards is a major point of pride for the Roman team. »

To learn more about the Roman mission, visit:

www.nasa.gov/roman

By Ashley Balzer
NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbelt, Maryland.

Media contact:

Claire Andreoli
NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbelt, Maryland.
301-286-1940