Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (shortened as Roman or the Roman Space Telescope, and formerly the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope or WFIRST) is a NASA infrared space telescope in development and scheduled to launch by May 2027.

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
Rendered model of the Roman Space Telescope
NamesRoman
Roman Space Telescope
Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)
Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM)
Mission typeInfrared space telescope
OperatorNASA / GSFC
Websiteroman.gsfc.nasa.gov
Mission duration5 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerNASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Launch mass4,166 kg (9,184 lb)
Dry mass4,059 kg (8,949 lb)
Payload mass2,191 kg (4,830 lb) (telescope & instruments)
Power2.5 kW
Start of mission
Launch dateOctober 2026 (contracted) – May 2027 (commitment)
RocketFalcon Heavy
Launch siteKennedy LC-39A
ContractorSpaceX
Orbital parameters
Reference systemSun–Earth L2 orbit
RegimeHalo orbit
Perigee altitude188,420 km (117,080 mi)
Apogee altitude806,756 km (501,295 mi)
Main telescope
TypeThree-mirror anastigmat
Diameter2.4 m (7.9 ft)
Focal ratiof/7.9
Wavelengths0.48–2.30 μm (Blue to Near-infrared)
Transponders
BandS-band (TT&C support)
Ka-band (data acquisition)
BandwidthFew kbit/s duplex (S-band)
290 Mbit/s (Ka-band)
Instruments
Wide-Field Instrument (WFI)
Coronagraph Instrument (CGI)
 

The Roman Space Telescope is based on an existing 2.4 m (7.9 ft) wide field of view primary mirror and will carry two scientific instruments. The Wide-Field Instrument (WFI) is a 300.8-megapixel multi-band visible and near-infrared camera, providing a sharpness of images comparable to that achieved by the Hubble Space Telescope over a 0.28 square degree field of view, 100 times larger than imaging cameras on the Hubble. The Coronagraphic Instrument (CGI) is a high-contrast, small field of view camera and spectrometer covering visible and near-infrared wavelengths using novel starlight-suppression technology.

Stated objectives include a search for extra-solar planets using gravitational microlensing, along with probing the chronology of the universe and growth of cosmic structure, with the end goal of measuring the effects of dark energy, the consistency of general relativity, and the curvature of spacetime.

Roman was recommended in 2010 by the United States National Research Council Decadal Survey committee as the top priority for the next decade of astronomy. On 17 February 2016, it was approved for development and launch. On 20 May 2020, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that the mission would be named the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in recognition of the former NASA Chief of Astronomy's role in the field of astronomy. As of July 2022, Roman is scheduled to be launched on a Falcon Heavy rocket under a contract specifying readiness by October 2026 supporting a NASA launch commitment of May 2027.

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