A New Contender in the Space Telescope Arena
A new player is set to join the big league of space telescopes. The Grace Space Telescope, named after the renowned astronomer Nancy Roman, has arrived in Florida at a well-known space facility. It was transported from a space center based in Maryland, via a massive barge known as Pegasus. The journey started in Baltimore and ended on Florida's Space Coast.
The Florida space center is the last stop for the telescope before it is launched into space on a massive heavy-duty rocket. Once in space, it will join a prestigious group of other major observatories, including telescopes like Hubble, Webb, Chandra, and Spitzer.
Preparing for Takeoff
With an expected launch date at the end of August, the telescope is well ahead of its original schedule. But before it can be launched, it has to undergo several tests at the Florida space center's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. This facility has recently been upgraded specifically to prepare for the telescope's arrival.
The telescope was transported in a specialized and environmentally controlled protective container, which was used to house the telescope at the start of its journey from Maryland. After reaching Florida, it was moved to the exterior of the servicing facility, where the cleaning and decontamination process began. The container was opened a day later inside the facility's airlock, and the roughly 18,000-pound spacecraft was then moved to a clean room for pre-launch preparations.
Final Preparations
The space telescope's work platform, fondly referred to as "the Pantheon", will provide engineers with the space to carry out final checkouts on the spacecraft. This includes testing the telescope's six solar panels, insulation, and heat management components. The telescope will also be loaded with about 290 gallons of hypergolic hydrazine fuel, which will power its thrusters for delivery to its final orbit and for small positional adjustments during the ten or more years it is expected to remain operational.
The Telescope's Mission
The Grace Space Telescope is designed to occupy a specific point in space, termed as the Sun-Earth Lagrange point two (L2). This is a special region of space where the gravitational pull of two or more bodies is equal, allowing a spacecraft to stay in place without needing to fire its thrusters and consume fuel. This point is located about 1 million miles beyond Earth on the side opposite the sun.
Once settled in at L2, the telescope's mission is scheduled to last for at least five years. However, there is the potential for the space agency to extend the telescope's use as long as its fuel lasts and its instruments continue to perform as required.
A new player is set to join the big league of space telescopes. The Grace Space Telescope, named after the renowned astronomer Nancy Roman, has arrived in Florida at a well-known space facility. It was transported from a space center based in Maryland, via a massive barge known as Pegasus. The journey started in Baltimore and ended on Florida's Space Coast.
The Florida space center is the last stop for the telescope before it is launched into space on a massive heavy-duty rocket. Once in space, it will join a prestigious group of other major observatories, including telescopes like Hubble, Webb, Chandra, and Spitzer.
Preparing for Takeoff
With an expected launch date at the end of August, the telescope is well ahead of its original schedule. But before it can be launched, it has to undergo several tests at the Florida space center's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. This facility has recently been upgraded specifically to prepare for the telescope's arrival.
The telescope was transported in a specialized and environmentally controlled protective container, which was used to house the telescope at the start of its journey from Maryland. After reaching Florida, it was moved to the exterior of the servicing facility, where the cleaning and decontamination process began. The container was opened a day later inside the facility's airlock, and the roughly 18,000-pound spacecraft was then moved to a clean room for pre-launch preparations.
Final Preparations
The space telescope's work platform, fondly referred to as "the Pantheon", will provide engineers with the space to carry out final checkouts on the spacecraft. This includes testing the telescope's six solar panels, insulation, and heat management components. The telescope will also be loaded with about 290 gallons of hypergolic hydrazine fuel, which will power its thrusters for delivery to its final orbit and for small positional adjustments during the ten or more years it is expected to remain operational.
The Telescope's Mission
The Grace Space Telescope is designed to occupy a specific point in space, termed as the Sun-Earth Lagrange point two (L2). This is a special region of space where the gravitational pull of two or more bodies is equal, allowing a spacecraft to stay in place without needing to fire its thrusters and consume fuel. This point is located about 1 million miles beyond Earth on the side opposite the sun.
Once settled in at L2, the telescope's mission is scheduled to last for at least five years. However, there is the potential for the space agency to extend the telescope's use as long as its fuel lasts and its instruments continue to perform as required.