[REVISION HISTORY]
Roman Telescope launch set for August 2026
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2026-07-29 20:59 UTC → 2026-07-31 08:25 UTC ·
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NASA’s final preparations for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope remain on track for a late‑August 2026 launch from Kennedy Space Center. After arriving at the launch site in June and completing integration in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, the observatory was highlighted in a virtual press conference on 29 July. Engineers note the mission is now eight months ahead of its original schedule and remains under budget, an uncommon outcome for a flagship NASA project. The telescope’s 2.4‑metre primary mirror matches Hubble’s size, but its wide‑field infrared instrument offers a field of view more than 100 times larger, allowing surveys of billions of galaxies up to 1,000 times faster than Hubble. A coronagraph will block starlight to reveal faint exoplanets and dust disks. NASA has now confirmed a launch on or after 30 August 2026 using aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, keeping the program within its $4.3 billion budget. All data will be released publicly after Propellant loading was completed on 25 July, filling the spacecraft reaches tanks with roughly 290 gallons of hydrazine for orbital maneuvers and station‑keeping at the Sun‑Earth L2 point, about 1.5 million km from Earth. In the days before launch, NASA completed fueling of the observatory, loading 290 gallons of hydrazine at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The launch mission is scheduled for 07:26 a.m. EDT (11:26 GMT) on 30 August 2026 from pad 39A. The spacecraft’s active coronagraph employs budgeted under $4.3 billion, has a 48 × 48 array of deformable mirrors whose movements are measured in fractions planned primary operating life of a hydrogen atom’s diameter, enhancing its ability to image exoplanets directly. The onboard propellant will also support station‑keeping at L2 five years, and could enable be extended to a mission extension of ten‑year total. Scientists expect the survey to map more than two billion galaxies, refine dark‑energy models, and discover up to five additional years if reserves allow. forty times more exoplanets than are currently known.
Versions
- 2026-07-31 08:25 UTC Roman Telescope launch set for August 2026
- 2026-07-29 20:59 UTC Roman Telescope launch set for August 2026
- 2026-07-27 11:35 UTC Roman Telescope launch set for August 2026
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