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Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope enters science commissioning phase

NASA confirmed completion of full observatory checkout 22 October 2026, with all core telescope systems operational.

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NASA's Roman Telescope enters science phase
NASA's Roman Telescope enters science phase AI illustrationhow this picture was made
GREENBELT, MD, Oct 22 2026 - NASA has confirmed the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has entered the science commissioning phase, following completion of full observatory checkout.[1] All core operating systems are functional. This includes guidance, exposures, data flow and slewing, Roman senior project scientist Julie McEnery stated.[2] Josh Schlieder, scientist for the telescope's Wide Field Instrument, confirmed the observatory can detect objects one hundred million times fainter than the human eye.[3] Space Nugget. Science commissioning is the transition phase after initial on-orbit checkout. During this period teams run calibration observations and verify performance before formal science operations begin.
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  1. NASA confirmed the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope entered the science commissioning phase after completing full observatory and instrument checkout. · NASA ScienceUnited Statesofficial source
  2. Julie McEnery, Roman senior project scientist at NASA Goddard, stated the observatory is fully functional for guidance, exposures, data flow and slewing. · NASA ScienceUnited Statesofficial source
  3. Josh Schlieder, Roman Wide Field Instrument scientist, stated the telescope can detect objects one hundred million times fainter than the human eye. · NASA ScienceUnited Statesofficial source
All of them publish from United States. 1 is an official body, so this traces to the document itself.