NASA Prepares for Roman Telescope Launch

NASA and SpaceX are targeting the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT on Aug. 30 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s live coverage is scheduled to begin at 6:20 a.m. and will be available through the agency’s online platforms.

The observatory is designed to investigate dark energy and dark matter, search for and study exoplanets, map billions of galaxies, and examine black holes. Its infrared view will cover an area at least 100 times larger than Hubble’s field of view while maintaining sharp imagery.

NASA has scheduled science and prelaunch briefings at Kennedy on Aug. 29, followed by media interviews and a planned flyby of the launch vehicle and spacecraft by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. A postlaunch news conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 30, although all times are subject to change based on weather and mission operations.

After launch, Roman is expected to travel to the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, about one million miles from Earth. The mission has a primary operating life of five years, with a goal of continuing for 10 years. NASA said the telescope’s processed science data will be made publicly available. Additional launch information and livestream access are available at nasa.gov/live.