The Roman telescope has enough gas for 22 years, double NASA's expectations

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is gliding toward its distant observation post on a pinpoint trajectory so precise that engineers estimate the spacecraft's fuel load will last twice as long as their initial expectations, the space agency confirmed Monday. The $4.3 billion observatory's designers originally planned to load enough propellant into Roman's four fuel tanks for a minimum lifetime of five years, plus a potential five-year mission extension. That was a conservative estimate. NASA officials knew an on-target launch and execution of the observatory's first post-launch course correction maneuver would leave Roman with a hearty fuel reserve. "As a result of exquisite planning by our orbital dynamics team, execution by the operations team, and a precise launch…