New NASA Telescopes Could Benefit from SpaceX Starship Rockets
A group of leading American astronomers has suggested that NASA’s future observatories should make use of the lifting capabilities offered by SpaceX’s Starship rockets. The James Webb Space Telescope, for example, could benefit from the enhanced payload capacity provided by these new rockets, allowing for a larger and more versatile design. The current payload constraints have often led to increased complexity and costs in previous missions.
NASA officials have taken note of this recommendation and are considering the possibilities presented by these new rockets. Charles Lawrence, the chief scientist for astronomy and physics at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, highlighted the potential for greater mass and volume capability when it comes to designing the next generation of telescopes. The availability of bigger rockets like the Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn could revolutionize the space industry and enable more ambitious missions.
The National Academies’ recent Astro2020 survey outlined the top priorities for astronomy and astrophysics in the United States. It proposed the development of a new series of “great observatories” to build upon the success of previous missions such as Hubble and James Webb. The first of these would be the Habitable Worlds Observatory, which would require the lifting power of rockets like the Starship to launch a telescope comparable in size to the James Webb. This new observatory would focus on observing exoplanets and searching for signs of habitability.
However, there are some challenges to launching these new telescopes earlier than anticipated. The estimated cost of the Habitable Worlds Observatory alone is around $11 billion, and NASA lacks the budget to accelerate the launch timeline. Additionally, technological innovations in optics, detectors, and materials are needed to make these telescopes feasible. The arrival of new rockets like the Starship could potentially lower some of these technological barriers and simplify the designs, which would reduce costs and shorten development time.
One of the limitations of current rockets is their payload capacity, as demonstrated by the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope had to be designed to fit within the payload fairing of an Ariane 5 rocket, which imposed constraints on its size and complexity. With larger rockets like the Starship, future telescopes could use larger monolithic mirrors instead of segmented mirrors, simplifying the design. They could also have larger solar panels for additional power and more redundancy in their electronics.
The flexibility provided by rockets like the Starship is crucial when planning missions that are decades away. Lee Feinberg, Webb’s optics manager, emphasized the importance of understanding the rockets well in advance to ensure flexibility and adaptability. The team working on the Habitable Worlds Observatory is considering different rockets, including the New Glenn and Starship, as potential launch options.
NASA will continue to study the possibilities presented by these new rockets and how they can impact the future of space telescopes. The quest for better understanding our universe and discovering habitable exoplanets may be accelerated with the use of these game-changing rockets.