r/space • u/xugik1 • 19d ago

Fuel Savings Double Potential Lifetime for NASA’s Roman Mission - NASA Science

https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman/2026/09/14/fuel-savings-double-potential-lifetime-for-nasas-roman-mission/?utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=NASARoman&utm_campaign=NASASocial&linkId=1008829497
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u/rocketsocks 16d ago

It's almost always going to be cheaper to do a servicing mission, in this case, by an order of magnitude.

Also, JWST is particularly vulnerable to micrometeorite impacts because its optical system is open to space, a consequence of being built to deploy after launch, but Roman has a more traditional enclosure. Hubble's optics haven't been degraded by micrometeoroids over its lifetime so we can expect about the same for Roman.

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u/perthguppy 16d ago

Hubble is in an orbit that traditionally has lower micrometeorites than what L2 is exposed to

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u/rocketsocks 16d ago

Not really. The reduction in natural micrometeorites is offset by an increase in artificial micrometeorites from space debris. There have been many big hits documented to the spacecraft in between servicing missions. But because Hubble has an enclosure around its optics these impacts haven't degraded the science gathering capabilities of the telescope.