NASA inspects NEO Surveyor sunshade ahead of 2028 launch

NASA inspected the large sunshade for its Near‑Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor spacecraft on July 15, 2026, at BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems in Boulder, Colorado. The sunshade, mounted on an assembly ring, was examined inside a clean‑room environment to verify its dimensions and structural integrity. The device stands about 20 feet (6 metres) tall and measures roughly 8 feet (2.4 metres) across its base, with two flat panels that will unfold once the telescope reaches orbit.

The inspection is a key step for the NEO Surveyor, a NASA mission designed to locate and track asteroids that could threaten Earth. The telescope relies on infrared sensors that must stay extremely cold to detect faint heat signatures from small, dark objects. The sunshade blocks sunlight and keeps the instruments at the required temperature. After a series of schedule slips, NASA is now targeting a 2028 launch, and confirming the sunshade’s performance is essential to staying on track. The review follows earlier tests of the telescope’s optics and propulsion system, which together form the mission’s core capability.

Engineers measured the sunshade’s weight, tension, and thermal coating during the clean‑room check. They also ran a series of alignment tests to ensure the panels will deploy without snagging. The structure is built from carbon‑fiber composites, chosen for their strength and low mass. NASA’s NEO Surveyor program manager said the successful inspection clears a major hurdle and moves the spacecraft toward final integration with its spacecraft bus. The next phase will involve mating the sunshade to the telescope’s main body, followed by environmental testing that simulates launch vibrations and space temperature extremes. If those steps go as planned, the mission will proceed to final checkout and then to the launch pad, where it will begin its three‑year survey of the sky for potentially hazardous asteroids.