Roman Telescope Begins Cosmic Journey

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, beginning a three-month journey to an orbit near the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, about one million miles from Earth. The mission lifted off at 7:26 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The observatory separated from the rocket 31 minutes after launch, while Falcon Heavy’s boosters returned safely to the launch site for refurbishment. NASA said ground controllers began receiving telemetry seven minutes after liftoff. Roman’s solar panels and lower instrument sun shade were also successfully deployed during the early stages of the mission.

Roman is designed to investigate dark matter, dark energy and exoplanets using a wide field of view and infrared vision. Its primary Wide Field Instrument includes an infrared camera with 18 detectors and is expected to survey the universe far faster than the Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope will also test a coronagraph capable of imaging Jupiter-sized planets, helping develop technology for future searches for Earth-like worlds.

NASA expects Roman to transmit about 1.4 terabytes of data each day. The observatory will undergo several months of commissioning, calibration and testing after reaching its destination, with the agency anticipating the release of its first images in early 2027.