{
  "id": 4861874,
  "title": "NASA Roman Space Telescope’s Antenna, ‘Visor’ Deployed",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/nasa-roman-space-telescopes-antenna-visor-deployed",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-01T12:59:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "NASA Science",
    "slug": "nasa-science",
    "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman/2026/09/01/nasa-roman-space-telescopes-antenna-visor-deployed/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has successfully deployed its antenna and visor-like sunshade. This high-gain antenna, measuring 5.6 feet wide and weighing only 24 pounds, is made of a lightweight carbon composite material. Despite its small size, the antenna is designed to withstand extreme temperature fluctuations during the spacecraft's journey across a million miles of space. The antenna will transmit data back to Earth at a rate of up to 500 megabits per second, using two frequencies. One frequency will allow the spacecraft to receive commands, while the other will enable the transmission of high-volume data. The antenna deployment took about 4 minutes and concluded on August 31 at 2:03 p.m. EDT. Following the antenna deployment, the deployable aperture cover, a large sunshade designed to prevent unwanted light from entering the telescope, was released. Deploying via three booms, the cover took approximately 8 minutes to unfurl and was successfully completed on September 1 at 6:05 a.m. EDT. Roman's next significant milestone is the activation of its Coronagraph Instrument, followed by the Wide Field Instrument. Both instruments will undergo a series of calibrations and tests throughout the spacecraft's three-month commissioning period. NASA anticipates releasing the telescope's first images by early 2027. For more information about Roman's commissioning process, visit NASA's Roman Commissioning page.",
  "summary": "Roman’s antenna and visor-like sunshade have successfully deployed. Roman will downlink the highest data volume of any NASA astrophysics mission so far via its high-gain antenna, which measures 5.6 feet wide yet only weighs 24 pounds. It’s made of a carbon composite material that weighs very little but will still withstand the spacecraft’s wide temperature […] The post NASA Roman Space…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Forbes",
        "title": "Roman Space Telescope And NASA’s Ultimate Search For Off-World Life",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/roman-space-telescope-and-nasas-ultimate-search-for-off-world-life",
        "published": "2026-09-01T01:25:21.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}