NASA Wants To Assemble Telescopes In Space Instead Of On Earth

Future modern telescopes will be heavier and bulkier, making it more difficult to bring them into space through rockets. Therefore, researchers think that instead of bringing large and complete telescopes from the ground to outer space, they will bring parts and assemble them outside the Earth.

Telescopes are getting bigger and bigger

A study has been opened up by NASA to prove whether this method is really feasible, called "in-Space Assembled Telescope" (iSAT). The team will focus on finding the right time in space to assemble a telescope, and more efficient than to accomplish that job on Earth and use the means to launch them into space and operate automatically.

While upcoming bigger and more accurate telescopes will give us a broader and deeper understanding of the solar system, scientists worry that launching them will go beyond our limited capacity.

Owing to radical advances in precision manufacturing, the next generation of telescopes is expected to have giant apertures or mirrors. Keeping telescopes' sizes small to enable their launches is critically against the ambitions of astrologists.

According to Nick Siegler, chief technologist for Exoplanet Exploration Program at NASA, at the American Astronomical Society's 233rd meeting in Seattle in January:

He also said that people are trying to make large structures smaller, and the work is just as tremendous as attempts to launch larger telescopes.

The Ikea solution

To overcome this limitation, scientists at NASA are looking for ways to take the pieces of telescopes away from Earth, one by one, instead of the whole device at once. Then, the telescope will be assembled robotically or by astronauts.

Scientists are still studying the use of humans or robots to assemble parts if putting the satellite into space in the piece

Researching to bring telescopes into space is not a plan for the future, NASA is currently developing a flat-package telescope. The telescope is expected to launch in 2021 called The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Ariane 5 heavy payload missile will transport it into space.

After being successfully launched into space, the telescope will open to be able to start its mission, with over 200 moving parts.

The JSWT will become the largest telescope ever made into space by its mirror size of 6.5 meters (21.3 feet). Although it has not been launched yet, NASA has begun working on the next generation of JSWT and it is expected to be even bigger.

We do not yet know in the future whether these large telescopes will be brought into space by a large rocket or transported each unit in turn, and NASA is still studying about the feasibility of the idea of assembling parts in space.

Who is the best assembler?

Astronauts repairing the Hubble telescope outer space

It is also possible that the robot will do the task of assembling the parts together, or that the astronauts will do it, but maybe we will need a combination of both to complete the job.

Between 1993 and 2009, astronauts had to help The Hubble telescope work in space. Astronauts taking care of it in space are not the ones who directly built the telescope on Earth, but they have also done very well in assembling and replacing parts for repairs. Except for this case, there have never been any astronauts visiting in-use space equipment. The results of iSAT research will be announced by NASA this summer.