Roman Space Telescope - Flight CGI Test Connector Panel Closeout

During a key integration milestone for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, technicians and engineers from the agency's Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California gather inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, following the closeout of the observatory’s Coronagraph Instrument test connector panel. Roman carries one science instrument called the Wide Field Instrument, and one technology demonstration called the Roman Coronagraph Instrument. The coronagraph is a system of masks, prisms, detectors, and even self-flexing mirrors built to block out the glare from distant stars and directly image the planets in orbit around them. The Roman Coronagraph will be the first active coronagraph to fly in space, meaning it contains components that actively respond to variables that would usually cause starlight to scatter, making it harder to see nearby planets.

Location: PHSF