Fuel Savings Double Potential Lifetime for NASA’s Roman Mission

The results are in: NASA�s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope�s very accurate first mid-course correction, along with other fuel savings, are expected to more than double the mission�s potential operational lifetime. �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,� said Jamie Dunn, center director at NASA�s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The added life comes from the first mid-course correction�s accuracy, extra fuel added prior to launch, and anticipated results from Roman�s upcoming second mid-course correction and orbital insertion.

Roman was designed for a five-year primary mission, plus a five-year extended mission � a 10-year fuel budget in total. Because fuel is the observatory�s primary consumable resource, any fuel savings could enable additional years of observations beyond the 10-year design life.