NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has begun integrating and testing the spacecraft's electrical cabling, or harness, which enables different parts of the observatory to communicate with one another. Additionally, the harness provides power and helps the central computer monitor the observatory's function via an array of sensors. This brings the mission a step closer to surveying billions of cosmic objects and untangling mysteries like dark energy following its launch by May 2027.
"Just as the nervous system carries signals throughout the human body, Roman's harness connects its components, providing both power and commands to each electronic box and instrument," said Deneen Ferro, the Roman harness project development lead at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "Without a harness, there is no spacecraft."
Weighing around 1,000 pounds, the harness is made up of approximately 32,000 wires and 900 connectors. If the wires were laid out end-to-end, they would span 45 miles. Directed upward, they would reach eight times higher than the peak of Mount Everest.
Achieving this milestone was no small task. Over the course of about two years, a team of 11 Goddard technicians spent time at the workbench and perched on ladders, cutting wire to length, meticulously cleaning each component, and repeatedly connecting everything together.
The entire harness was built on an observatory mock-up structure before being transported to Goddard's Space Environment Simulator - a massive thermal vacuum chamber used in this case for "bakeout."
When observatories like Roman are sent to space, the resulting vacuum and orbital temperatures can cause certain materials to release harmful vapors, which can then condense within electronics and create problems like short circuits or deposits on sensitive optics, degrading the telescope's performance. Bakeout releases these gases on Earth so they aren't emitted inside the spacecraft when in space.
Now, engineers will weave the harness through the flight structure in Goddard's big clean room. This ongoing process will continue until most of the spacecraft components are assembled. In the meantime, the Goddard team will soon begin installing electronics boxes that will eventually provide power via the harness to all the spacecraft's science instruments.
Video: Installing The Roman Space Telescope's Nervous System
Artificial Intelligence Analysis
Defense Industry Analyst:
8/10
This article is relevant to defense industry analysts as it provides important insight into the development of a major space mission. This mission is intended to provide data and insight into the unknowns of space and will have significant implications for the space and defense industries. Analysts can use this information to gain a better understanding of NASA’s technological capabilities and the potential implications of the mission, as well as to inform their analysis of the industries.
Stock Market Analyst:
6/10
This article is relevant to stock market analysts as it provides information about a major ongoing space mission, which could have implications for the space and defense industries. Analysts can use this information to understand the progress of the mission, and to inform their analysis of the potential future impacts to industry and related stocks.
General Industry Analyst:
7/10
This article is relevant to general industry analysts as it provides important insight into the development of a major space mission. This mission has significant implications for the space and defense industries and its progress and potential future impacts can be used to inform industry analysis and decision-making.
Analyst Summary
:NASA has begun integrating and testing the electrical cabling, or harness, for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope mission, which is set to launch by May 2027. The harness is an essential component of the observatory, as it enables different parts of the spacecraft to communicate with one another, as well as providing power and monitoring the observatorys function. The harness is made up of 32,000 wires and 900 connectors, and a team of 11 technicians worked for two years to build it. This milestone brings the mission one step closer to surveying billions of cosmic objects and untangling mysteries like dark energy. This article is relevant to defense, stock market, and general industry analysts, as it provides insights into the development of a major space mission and its potential implications for the industries. Over the past 25 years, the space and defense industries have seen significant technological advances and increased investment in space exploration, leading to the development of projects such as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Analysts can use this information to understand the progress of the mission and its potential future impacts on the industries.Investigative
Question:
- 1. What are the potential implications of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope mission for the space and defense industries?
- 2. What other technological advances have been made in the space and defense industries over the past 25 years and what impact have these had?
- 3.
How have the increasing investments in space exploration over the past 25 years impacted the space and defense industries?4. What other challenges have been encountered in the development of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope mission?
5. What other projects similar to the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope are currently in development?
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