Roman Space Telescope Launch from Cape Canaveral

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launched NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Cape Canaveral on August 30, 2026, beginning a mission planned for five to ten years. The observatory features a 2.4-meter mirror and a wide-field infrared camera, enabling surveys about 100 times larger than Hubble's field of view as it travels to a Sun-Earth L2 orbit roughly one million miles from Earth. Roman aims to map the cosmos with wide-area surveys, study cosmic expansion, and search for exoplanets, combining deep vision with broad coverage. The mission was delivered under budget and ahead of schedule, with first images expected by early 2027 and data released publicly after processing. The launch and collaboration drew praise from President Trump and highlighted cooperation among NASA, SpaceX, and contractors, including reuse of boosters and a mirror from a canceled reconnaissance program.