NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifted off Sunday morning from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, marking the first major mission for the observatory named after the agency’s first chief astronomer. The Falcon Heavy rocket, powered by three engines, carried the telescope into orbit shortly after 8:05 a.m. EDT, according to NASA. The mission aims to search for planets outside our solar system, investigate dark energy, and map the universe in unprecedented detail. The telescope, roughly the size of a school bus, is now en route to a orbit 1 million miles from Earth, where it will join the James Webb Space Telescope in deep-space observations.
The Roman Space Telescope, costing $4.3 billion, is designed to detect exoplanets using a technique called gravitational microlensing, which can reveal planets even when they’re too faint to be seen directly. It also features a 280-megapixel wide-field camera, the largest ever sent into space, to survey vast swaths of the cosmos. Named after Nancy Grace Roman, who helped establish NASA’s space science program in the 1960s, the telescope is a key part of NASA’s next-generation astronomy efforts.
The launch followed years of preparation at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, where engineers assembled the telescope’s intricate instruments. Technicians spent months connecting the observatory’s inner and outer segments, ensuring it could withstand the harsh conditions of space. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket currently in operation, was chosen for its ability to deliver heavy payloads to deep space.
The telescope is expected to begin scientific operations within a year of reaching its orbit. Its findings could help scientists understand the structure of the universe, the nature of dark energy, and the potential for life beyond Earth. NASA officials said the mission will build on data from previous telescopes, including Hubble and Webb, to answer fundamental questions about the cosmos.
The launch drew crowds to the Space Coast, with spectators gathering along the Banana River near the Kennedy Space Center’s visitor complex. Local officials praised the mission as a milestone for Brevard County, which has long been a hub for space exploration. The telescope’s operations will be managed from NASA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., with support from centers across the country.