NASA Kennedy Prepares Facility for Roman Space Telescope Arrival

Preparations are underway for the launch of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as early as early September on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Roman Space Telescope will provide deep panoramic views of the cosmos, generating never-before-seen images that will revolutionize our understanding of the universe. However, before Roman arrives at the launch pad, the telescope will perform final inspections, checkouts and refueling at NASA Kennedy’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF).

The 40-year-old facility is a dual-use complex dedicated to cleanroom operations and hazardous materials, where many spacecraft underwent final processing before launch, including receipt, integration, testing and encapsulation before liftoff. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA Kennedy, manages the Roman Mission Launch Service.

To prepare for Roman’s arrival, the program oversaw several improvements to the PHSF. This included replacing its air shower system, a small inlet chamber that blasts HEPA-filtered air at high velocity over people and equipment before they enter a clean room.

“Roman is a very sensitive spacecraft. NASA is always pushing the limits of the precision of our instruments, and the result is that they must be very well maintained during their processing at PHSF,” said Ryan Boehmer, launch site integration manager for NASA’s Kennedy Launch Services Program. “One of the biggest sources of contamination for a spacecraft is people.”

The PHSF is a clean work area, so the facility must be free of any contamination that could negatively impact the Roman spacecraft. Technicians must wear a protective suit before using the air shower, which sprays air to reduce particles carried on clothing or equipment and keeps the spacecraft environment in the facility as clean and free of contamination as possible.

Dust, debris or even a piece of hair can interfere with a spacecraft and its instruments as it collects crucial scientific data in orbit. The facility is certified to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Class 8 cleanroom standards, but can exceed them with an increase. The team plans to use a HEPA filtration wall to achieve the ISO Class 7 standards required for Roman.

Another upgrade from PHSF is its HVAC system, which is much more advanced than a typical residential system. The goal of this upgrade is to replace the facility’s cooling coils to ensure the airlock and cleanroom remain air-conditioned, with backup available in the event of an outage. Additional upgrades include the compressed air system pressure tank, air dryer and regulator panel to provide clean, reliable compressed air to slide equipment across the floor – like an air hockey table but on a much larger scale. Massive volumes of filtered air are circulated throughout the facility to prevent outside contaminants from entering the building.

“Another consideration we have is keeping the spacecraft and the people working on it at comfortable temperatures during processing, especially given Florida’s hot and humid environment,” said Genevieve Futch, Launch Services Program mission manager for Roman at NASA Kennedy. “Throughout processing, teams power spacecraft to perform tests, which can generate heat. All cleanroom technicians wear a significant amount of protective clothing that traps heat. So we rely on PHSF’s HVAC system to reliably maintain the facility environment. We don’t want to overheat either the equipment or our team.”

Indoors, the temperature is maintained around 70°F with a maximum relative humidity of 60% and a minimum required humidity of 30%. Too much moisture can lead to corrosion, while too little can create static electricity. The team constantly monitors conditions to ensure the safety of the spacecraft.

Workers also repainted the facility’s 15-ton overhead crane, which is used to lift spacecraft hardware, but not for aesthetic reasons. The new paint helps prevent paint chips from turning into foreign object debris, commonly known as FOD. All teams working on Roman aim to prevent even microscopic particles from contaminating the spaceship. Paint chips are larger and heavier than some of the smaller contaminants, but they can still become airborne debris that can settle on equipment, causing mechanical interference and performance degradation. Removing all potential sources of contamination is part of launch site planning and reflects the attention to detail required to launch a spacecraft.

Roman will undergo several pre-launch operations, including thermal protection closure, cleaning, solar panel work and hydrazine propellant loading. The PHSF is one of the few facilities where spacecraft are subject to both hazardous refueling operations and delicate contamination control procedures.

The PHSF began operations in 1986 as part of the Space Shuttle program, where it supported processing of several major Shuttle payloads, including missions supporting NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Since 1998, the Launch Services Program has managed 16 launches processed at PHSF, beginning with the program’s first mission, NASA’s Deep Space 1. Other missions include Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft and soon Roman.

“We have a responsibility to ensure the highest practical probability of successful launch of these incredibly sophisticated and delicate spacecraft,” Boehmer said. “We are a common thread combining the capabilities of commercial rockets with NASA scientific spacecraft, and we have experience handling everything from space telescopes to Mars rovers to deep space probes in this building.”

Roman will work in collaboration with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble. This is a survey mission with a field of view 100 times larger than Webb’s and up to 200 times larger than Hubble’s. Roman’s broad view will help answer critical questions about dark energy, exoplanets and astrophysics, while Webb will be able to follow the rare objects Roman discovers, examining them in more detail.

“I think it’s human nature to wonder about what’s in space,” Boehmer said. “I believe that when we start receiving images from Roman and seeing more of the universe than ever before, people will connect to that sense of wonder.”