If everything goes well then it will be launched earlier than planned.
NASA is targeting a launch date of August 30, 2026, for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, eight months earlier than originally planned and even earlier than the September schedule announced earlier this year. In late May, NASA Goddard engineers completed a final inspection of the infrared telescope’s primary mirror, ensuring it was not smudged during testing and ensuring it remained in proper alignment after a “shake test.” The 7.9-foot mirror will collect and focus light from cosmic objects as the telescope observes the universe to find answers about dark energy and determine how common solar systems like ours are.
Agency engineers are now packing the telescope so it can be shipped from Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, to Kennedy Space Center in Florida later this month. When it reaches Kennedy, Roman will conduct a thorough inspection to verify that nothing has been broken during its transportation. In the weeks before its target launch, it will undergo a series of test rehearsals. It will of course be filled with fuel and then encased in a protective fairing before being installed on top of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for launch.
The space telescope, named after NASA’s first chief astronomer, has a field of view 100 times larger than Hubble. This will enable Roman to capture more of the sky in a shorter time after reaching its destination, where it will connect with the James Webb Space Telescope at the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point located behind our planet.
“All this work will culminate in Roman offering a never-before-seen view of the universe,” NASA said in its announcement. Additionally, while ROMAN has its own purposes, it will provide observational capabilities to astronomers along with other goals and give them access to data that can answer more questions about the universe.
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