New Payload Adapter From Beyond Gravity Deployed NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Into Space

Beyond Gravity developed its largest payload adapter so far. With a diameter of 3.1 meters, the adapter safely deploys large spacecraft into space, like the NASA Nancy Grace Telescope.

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The NASA telescope will explore dark energy, dark matter, and thousands of worlds beyond our solar system. “As part of this landmark mission, our new 3.1 meter diameter payload adapter system from Beyond Gravity in Linköping was utilized for the first time. It is the largest payload adapter we have developed so far. The adapter played a critical role in securing the payload during ascent into space and ensuring its precise separation from the launch vehicle at the right moment required for the telescope’s journey into space”, says CEO Dr. Barbara Frei-Spreiter.

“We have been working on it for many years”

The new payload adapter system is called “PAS 3100SX“ (PAS stands for Payload Adapter System). Ulrika Unell, Vice President Separation Systems at Beyond Gravity in Linköping, says: “We were proud to see our new payload adapter successfully perform on its inaugural mission. We have been working on this high-capability technology for many years and our new adapter has been qualified for use on several high-profile missions. NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope was the first mission to use the new payload adapter. We expect several further launches with our new payload adapter system in the years to come.”

About the new 3.1 meter payload adapter

Beyond Gravity has built an extensive flight heritage in payload separation technology, with a family of separation systems supporting missions across a broad range of payload classes, from interfaces as small as 0,4 meters (15 inches) up to systems such as the PAS 3100SX at (122 inches) 3,1 meters. The launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope marks the flight debut of Beyond Gravity’s largest and newest flight-proven clamp band separation system. With a diameter of 3.1 meter (122 inches) and advanced high-capability design features, the system is engineered to support payload masses exceeding 20,000 kilograms (44,000 pounds), enabling some of the most demanding scientific, exploration, and commercial space missions.

1,700 successful separations and counting

The mission also represented Beyond Gravity’s 1,700th successful in-orbit separation, extending a strong legacy of mission assurance and maintaining the company’s 100 percent success rate in orbital separation events. This milestone further underscores Beyond Gravity’s position as a trusted partner to the global space industry, delivering reliable and precise separation systems for critical space missions. Separation systems and dispensers from Beyond Gravity have been used wide range of missions over the last 40 years.

Supporting information

More about the NASA telescope: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/and 9 Facts about the telescope: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/roman-space-telescope/9-things-to-know-about-nasas-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope/

More about SpaceX Falcon Heavy: https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-heavy

Image credit: NASA/Sydney Rohde (Rocz)