Detector systems from Teledyne on NASA’s premier astrophysics mission will aid studies of dark energy, exoplanets, and cosmic evolution.
Teledyne Space Imaging, a top provider of imaging sensors, focal plane arrays, and integrated camera systems designed for space—part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE: TDY)—marked a significant achievement after the successful liftoff of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The telescope launched on August 30 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
With Roman now in orbit, the total number of Teledyne scientific imaging sensors in space exceeds 1,000, encompassing those on the Hubble and James Webb missions. The detector technologies supplied by Teledyne serve both of Roman’s key scientific instruments, facilitating research into dark energy, exoplanets, and various astrophysical phenomena. This latest milestone strengthens the company’s role as a premier supplier of advanced detector technologies for scientific, commercial, and government space endeavors.
Back in 2018, NASA awarded Teledyne a $23 million (USD) contract to deliver 24 flight-quality sensor chip assemblies for the Roman mission, a figure later increased to 28. Every detector provided exceeded performance benchmarks for quantum efficiency, low noise, and image persistence, while also boosting the instrument’s spectral bandwidth by 20 percent.
For the mission’s Wide Field Instrument (WFI), Teledyne delivered the H4RG-10 infrared detector arrays that compose Roman’s distinctive focal plane—the largest infrared focal plane ever deployed in space. Each detector houses over 16 million pixels arranged in a 4096 × 4096 configuration. Together, 18 H4RG-10 detectors form a mosaic exceeding 300 million pixels, featuring a unique shape that inspired the iconic Roman mission logo chosen by NASA.
Teledyne also provided three CCD311-20 detectors for Roman’s Coronagraph Instrument, one of the most sophisticated high-contrast imaging systems ever launched into space. This instrument combines precision coronagraph masks, deformable mirrors, wavefront sensing and control systems, and electron-multiplying CCD technology to block starlight and directly observe far fainter planetary systems. This technology demonstration is anticipated to lay the groundwork for future missions aiming to directly image Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars.
“Surpassing 1,000 scientific, space-qualified imaging sensors in orbit is a proud milestone for everyone at Teledyne,” stated Megan Tremer, President of Teledyne Space Imaging. “It underscores our longstanding dedication to advancing imaging technology and supporting the globe’s most ambitious space missions. Roman represents another key chapter in that narrative, and we are eager to see how it deepens our knowledge of the Universe.”
Roman is NASA’s newest flagship astrophysics observatory, built to survey billions of galaxies and observe distant stellar explosions, aiding scientists in exploring dark energy—the enigmatic force accelerating the Universe’s expansion. The mission will also detect thousands of exoplanets outside our solar system, including planetary systems never before studied at this scale. It features a field of view roughly 200 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope’s infrared observations.
In addition to these core goals, Roman will facilitate a wide array of astronomical research, ranging from examining star formation in neighboring galaxies and supermassive black holes in the distant cosmos to investigating the environments where stars and planetary systems emerge. The observatory will also enhance our understanding of objects within our own solar system.
Roman builds on more than four decades of Teledyne innovation in detector technology. Today, Teledyne’s imaging sensors support numerous leading scientific and Earth observation missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, Euclid Space Telescope, ESA’s Sentinel missions, and NOAA’s and NASA’s GOES program.
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Note to Editors
About Teledyne Space Imaging
Teledyne Space Imaging of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE: TDY) boasts a notable history in creating space-qualified imaging sensors, focal plane arrays, and integrated camera systems for premier space agencies and observatories, such as NASA, ESA, JAXA, and KASA. Its background spans more than 250 space projects, along with various commercial space applications. Teledyne Space Imaging designs, tests, and produces an array of CCD, CMOS, and IR detectors with optical filters and package options to satisfy all performance needs.
About Teledyne
Teledyne is a leading provider of sophisticated digital imaging products and software, instrumentation, aerospace and defense electronics, and engineered systems. Teledyne’s operations are predominantly located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Western and Northern Europe. For further details, visit Teledyne’s website at www.teledyne.com
Abigail Singleton
Singleton PR
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