Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launches on Falcon Heavy to Sun-Earth L2

NASA/Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, beginning its journey to the L2 point. The observatory features a 2.4-meter mirror and 100× Hubble's field of view.

• Roman's wide field of view (0.28°) allows surveys of vast sky areas in fewer exposures than Hubble.
• The telescope will measure how dark energy has accelerated the universe's expansion over cosmic time.
• Coronagraph and direct imaging capabilities enable detection of young, hot exoplanets around distant stars.
• Commissioning at L2 is expected to take several weeks, with science operations beginning in late 2026.