Mirror donated by spies, Red Fort-sized photos: Why Nasa's new telescope is special
NASA has launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which utilizes high-quality mirrors originally developed for spy satellites. The telescope is designed to capture massive panoramic images of the universe, significantly expanding astronomical data collection.
Why it matters
This mission represents a major leap in space observation capabilities, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of the cosmos through advanced data processing.
The story begins with an unexpected phone call. In Jan 2011, someone from the US’s highly secretive National Reconnaissance Office contacted a top Nasa official about a couple of curved mirrors, two metres wide, their spy satellite programme no longer needed.The offer immediately excited Nasa brass for two main reasons: the mirrors were Hubble-size, and they were getting them for free.Over the next decade, a thousand engineers went to work, packing millions of delicate components around one of the mirrors. Their creation was ready by 2024. And it was launched last month, as one of the most advanced space telescopes ever built.The Nancy Grace Roman is on its way to an observation point 1.5 million kilometres away.
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