A billion galaxies is a big target, and NASA says its next space telescope is now a step closer to getting off the ground.
Technicians have completed fuelling NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will search for Earth-like planets and study dark energy and why it is causing the universe to expand faster over time.
The team loaded 290 gallons of hydrazine fuel into the observatory at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA said hydrazine is highly effective, but also extremely toxic, caustic and a known carcinogen, so technicians handling it need specialised protective gear and strict safety protocols.
Named after NASA’s first chief astronomer, the “mother of the Hubble Space Telescope,” the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will have a field of view at least 100 times larger than Hubble’s. NASA says it could measure light from a billion galaxies over its lifetime.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting liftoff no earlier than August 30 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center, nine months ahead of schedule.
After launch and separation from the rocket, Roman will use its onboard propellant to perform manoeuvres as it travels to Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, or L2, about 1.6 million kilometres from Earth.
NASA said: “Researchers are eager to study thousands of exoplanets Roman will discover, to learn how closely they resemble Earth.
“They also will use Roman to study the mystery of dark energy and why it’s causing the universe to expand faster over time.”
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