Roman Space Telescope reportedly receives first starlight
A September 16, 2026, science roundup says NASA switched on all 18 detectors in Roman’s 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument. It describes an engineering milestone, with alignment and calibration still to come.
TLDR
According to the September 16, 2026, roundup, NASA activated Roman’s Wide Field Instrument in space on September 15, and it received its first starlight. The post also says the coronagraph passed initial communications, movement and thermal-control checks. It describes this as an engineering milestone rather than a science result: the images remain out of focus, optical alignment and calibration come next, and first science images are expected in early 2027.
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Roman Space Telescope reportedly receives first starlight
A September 16, 2026, science roundup says NASA switched on all 18 detectors in Roman’s 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument. It describes an engineering milestone, with alignment and calibration still to come.