NASA and SpaceX launched the telescope designed to search for planets and study dark matter and dark energy
Update, August 30, 2026: NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope was successfully launched at 14:26 Israel time, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. According to the live broadcast, all phases of the flight have so far proceeded as planned: the launcher safely passed the point of maximum aerodynamic load, the side boosters separated, and the upper stage continued to carry the observatory. Roman's separation from the upper stage is scheduled for approximately 31 and a half minutes after liftoff, after which it will begin its journey to the L2 Lagrange point, about 1.6 million kilometers from Earth.
For a review of the astronomical Nancy Grace Roman
Details about the telescope and the science it is expected to provide are provided later in this article.
- 13:20 – NASA's live broadcast begins
- 14:26 – Falcon Heavy launch
- About 14:33:40 – Landing of the two side boosters
- About 14:57:31 – Separation of the Roman telescope from the upper stage
- 16:30 – Post-launch press conference
All times are subject to change depending on weather, launcher status, and real-time launch team decisions.
The launcher was placed on the launch pad.
On Saturday, the Falcon Heavy rocket was moved from the SpaceX hangar to Launch Complex 39A and positioned vertically. The nearly 70-foot-tall rocket is equipped with 27 Merlin engines divided between the main booster and two side boosters.
Earlier, NASA and SpaceX completed the final launch readiness test. At its conclusion, the mission was deemed suitable to proceed to the countdown. The test included the readiness of the telescope, launcher, ground systems, mission teams, and weather.
Forecasters from the US Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron estimated that there was a chance of 60% for suitable conditions for launchIn the event that weather or a technical glitch prevents the launch on Sunday, the mission has a backup date available on Monday, August 31, at 14:22 Israel time.
A flight of just over half an hour
Falcon Heavy has three first-stage boosters. The two side boosters are designed to re-land at Cape Canaveral, while the center booster will not be returned.
Approximately two minutes and 27 seconds after launch, the side boosters are expected to separate from the main booster and begin their return journey. Their landing is scheduled for approximately seven minutes and 40 seconds after launch.
Approximately 31 minutes and 31 seconds after liftoff, the Roman telescope is expected to separate from the upper stage and begin its journey to Lagrange point L2 of the solar-Earth system, at a distance of about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
In the three months following launch, the mission team will perform a planned series of launches, tests, and calibrations before placing the observatory into its operational orbit and beginning scientific observations.
A broad survey of the universe
Roman is named after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first director of astronomy, known as the “Mother of the Hubble Space Telescope.” The telescope has a primary mirror 2.4 meters in diameter, similar to Hubble’s, but its field of view is at least a hundred times wider.
The observatory is designed to conduct broad and deep surveys of the sky, map billions of galaxies, study dark matter and dark energy, and conduct a statistical census of planets outside the solar system.
Its main instrument is a 300-million-pixel wide-field camera. Alongside it, the telescope carries an experimental coronagraph, designed to test technologies for blocking starlight and directly imaging planets and planetary formation disks.
The primary mission is planned to last five years, but NASA has set a goal of operating the telescope for ten years. The data that will undergo novel processing will be available to the public and the research community.
Questions and Answers
When is the Roman Heger Space Telescope expected to be launched?
The target time is Sunday, August 30, 2026, at 14:26 PM Israel time.
When does the live broadcast start?
NASA's official broadcast will begin at 13:20 p.m. on the agency's YouTube channel and the NASA+ service.
What happens if the launch is postponed?
SpaceX announced a backup option for Monday, August 31, at 14:22 p.m. Israel time.
When will the telescope separate from the launcher?
If the flight goes as planned, Roman will separate from the upper stage approximately 31 and a half minutes after launch, around 14:57 p.m.
Where will the novel telescope be sent?
The telescope will move to the L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, and enter orbit around it.
Sources
- Official launch details for the Roman Telescope – NASA
- NASA broadcast and event schedule
- The mission has been cleared to proceed with launch – NASA
- The launcher was placed on the launch pad – NASA
- SpaceX mission page
- Image and credit page at NASA
More on the subject on the science website
- The Roman Space Telescope will be fueled and ready for launch on August 30th.
- Launch of the Roman Space Telescope to Search for Extrasolar Planets
- Roman Space Telescope Receives Instrument to Search for Alien Worlds
- Dark energy still stands the test
- Cosmic Nomads: A Novel Could Find Stray Planets
For the original publication: NASA | [
