NASA's newest space telescope launches on a quest to explore the hidden universe
- On Sunday, August 30, 2026, NASA launched the $4.3 billion Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The observatory separated from the rocket after 31 minutes, beginning its journey toward the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point.
- NASA repurposed a 2.4-meter mirror from a National Reconnaissance Office spy satellite, donated in 2012, for this mission named after Nancy Grace Roman, the agency's first chief astronomer and key architect of the Hubble Space Telescope.
- Roman's 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument captures a field of view 100 times larger than Hubble's, enabling the observatory to survey the sky 1,000 times faster. This capability transforms Roman into an unprecedented data-gathering platform.
- Scientists expect Roman to investigate dark matter, dark energy, and over 100,000 exoplanets during its mission. NASA plans to release first images in early 2027 following a three-month commissioning period.
- The primary mission lasts five years, though Roman carries enough hydrazine fuel to potentially extend operations to ten. Engineers designed the spacecraft to be refuelable in space, though future on-orbit servicing remains uncertain.
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406 Articles
SpaceX launches NASA’s newest crown-jewel telescope, which will look for 'the weird, the rare and the unusual' — including dark matter and energy
“It’s going to find thousands of supernovae, tens of thousands of planets, billions of galaxies and tens of billions of stars.”
NASA launched its Roman telescope, which is expected to provide answers to the mysteries of physics that represent matter and dark energy.
'What a glorious dawn launch': Why the Roman Space Telescope's picture-perfect liftoff beyond Earth is such a big deal
The Roman Space Telescope successfully launched to space on Sunday (Aug. 30). Its liftoff was met with excitement from scientists, love from its team and a surprising call from President Trump.
NASA has launched a new telescope intended to give scientists more insight into dark matter and dark energy, and worlds beyond our solar system. The American space agency also hopes to find answers to the question of why the universe continues to expand. It concerns the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a $4 billion NASA project. The telescope was launched today from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Abou…
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