The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a NASA observatory aimed at investigating dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics, has reached a significant milestone in its construction. The spacecraft’s electrical cabling, or harness, is now being integrated and tested by the telescope’s team. The harness is crucial for communication and power distribution throughout the observatory, allowing different components to interact with each other and enabling the central computer to monitor its function through sensor arrays. This is a critical step towards the telescope’s launch by May 2027, as it brings the mission closer to surveying billions of cosmic objects and unraveling the mysteries of dark energy.

The harness is an intricate system weighing around 1,000 pounds, consisting of approximately 32,000 wires and 900 connectors. If the wires were laid out end-to-end, they would span 45 miles. The construction of the harness involved a two-year process during which a team of technicians meticulously cut wire to length, cleaned components, and connected everything together. Once built, the harness was subjected to a “bakeout” process in Goddard’s Space Environment Simulator, which mimics the vacuum and extreme temperatures of space to ensure the materials do not release harmful vapors that could damage the telescope.

With the completion of the harness integration, engineers will now weave the harness through the flight structure in Goddard’s clean room. This will continue until most of the spacecraft components are assembled. The next step will be the installation of electronics boxes that will provide power via the harness to the telescope’s science instruments.

Sources: NASA

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