Small Talk: Episode 085 - Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope2010: Concept 2016: Formal mission development started2016-2026: 10 years of development.So total 15 years from concept to completion.Cost: $4.3 Billion DollarsWeight: 8000 Kgs.Destination: L2 ( Lagrange 2 )How far: 1.5 million miles. ( 4x farther than moon)How long will it take to reach L2: 3 months.1.5 million miles in 3 months is 700 miles per hour.100x more field of view than Hubble.Hubble is only 500 kms away. Roman is going to be 1.5 million miles away.Roman will study:             Dark Energy.            Dark Matter            ExoPlanets            Study expanding universe. Make huge 3D map.Why falcon heavy and not falcon 9? Falcon 9: ideal for LEO low earth Orbit.LEO is 500kms-2000 Kms.L2 is 1.5 million miles.So more push is needed. Hence falcon heavy.Sunday morning Falcon Heavy successfully pushed Roman toward L2.These projects are not given without proven capabilities and trust.$4.3 billion is not a big deal. Elon can write a check.Whats more valuable is 16 years of work that went to make this.Congrats NASA and SpaceX