The Roman telescope has enough gas for 22 years, double NASA's expectations
摘要
NASA确认，南希·格雷斯·罗马空间望远镜的燃料可支持至少22年的潜在科学运行，约为原预期寿命的两倍。该望远镜造价43亿美元，设计时仅要求装载满足最低五年任务及可能五年延寿所需的推进剂。NASA官员表示，精确的发射、入轨及首次轨道修正使燃料余量大幅增加。戈达德太空飞行中心负责人称，这得益于轨道动力学团队的规划、运营团队的执行以及SpaceX的精准发射。
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is gliding toward its distant observation post on a pinpoint trajectory so precise that engineers estimate the spacecraft's fuel load will last twice as long as their initial expectations, the space agency confirmed Monday.
The $4.3 billion observatory's designers originally planned to load enough propellant into Roman's four fuel tanks for a minimum lifetime of five years, plus a potential five-year mission extension. That was a conservative estimate. NASA officials knew an on-target launch and perfect execution of the observatory's first post-launch course correction maneuver would leave Roman with a hearty fuel reserve.
"As a result of exquisite planning by our orbital dynamics team, brilliant execution by the operations team, and a precise launch from SpaceX, Roman has fuel for at least 22 years of potential science operations," Jamie Dunn, center director at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a press release.
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