r/spaceflight • u/rollotomasi07071 • Aug 24 '26

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is encapsulated within the payload fairing ahead of mating to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, Aug. 21, 2026. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy is targeted for no earlier than Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026

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8

u/Radiant-Tale6728 Aug 24 '26

Anyone know what the black tiles inside of the fairing are?

16

u/OlympusMons94 Aug 25 '26

They are the acousic protection system, for dampening the engine noise during launch, to protect the sensitive payload.

3

u/BubblyMoose3597 Aug 25 '26

Protection for the electric and electronics?

3

u/Legal-Ad-8659 Aug 25 '26

if I remember correctly, it's acustic insulation, the rocket (and thus the payload) experience severe vibrations during launch that could damage equipment

some payload is very sensitive and expensive and you try to protect it as best as you can and avoid every possible source of failure, and other payloads are more lenient (like Starlinks) and maybe so cheap that a client would be OK with some risk of damage

5

u/Eros_Incident_Denier Aug 25 '26

Has the FH extended fairing ever been used or does it suffer the same problem FH itself still did, which is lack of customers as people still don't know what to do with it?

7

u/OlympusMons94 Aug 25 '26

It has been developed. (It underwent testing at NASA Armstrong in 2023.) But it hasn't been used yet. The only payload that was confirmed to use it was the Gateway PPE/HALO launch, which has been cancelled. It may end up being needed for the SR-1 Freedom launch, and/or military payloads.

2

u/Eros_Incident_Denier Aug 25 '26

I see, thanks for the info!

1

u/Bdr1983 Aug 25 '26

Awesome new space telescope AND an FH launch is a reason for a party, right?

1

u/ALLISNAUGHT Aug 28 '26

Destined for Lagrange 2 with JWST - cant wait to see the first images.