APOD: 2026 August 31 – Launch of the Roman Space Telescope

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Coverage
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- NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to launch at 7:26 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 30. While you wait to watch the launch, brush up on some key facts about this wide-view mission. To learn more about the Roman mission, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/roman Media contact: Claire AndreoliNASA’s…
- To strengthen the nation’s space workforce and develop the next generation of space leaders, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order on Friday to establish the nation’s first U.S. Space Academy. The order highlights how space is a critical domain for American national security,…
- Searching for exoplanets and clues on planet formation, the Roman telescope will lift off Sunday morning in Florida A $4.3bn space telescope that Donald Trump tried to kill is set to lift off from Florida early on Sunday as Nasa embarks on the next stage of its quest to unlock the secrets of the…
- NASA’s latest offering to the stars comes from a legacy of great observatories that enabled decades of discovery and unearthed new mysteries about the universe.
- The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled to launch on Sunday, will study dark energy and discover a multitude of planets.
- Nature, Published online: 30 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02727-7 The space observatory will have an expansive view of the Universe as well as sharp resolution.
- Astronomers will use data collected by Roman’s wide, deep gaze to study the dark universe and hunt for new worlds.
- The tour-bus-sized telescope aims to unravel cosmic mysteries and identify more than 100,000 planets beyond our solar system.
- Now on a three-month, million-mile journey to its final orbit, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will soon reveal the universe’s darkest secrets. The mission launched at 7:26 a.m. EDT Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in…
- Description Five antennas soak in the summer sun at the Deep Space Network’s Goldstone complex near Barstow, California, in August 2026. The recently completed Deep Space Station 23, a 34-meter (114-foot) beam-waveguide antenna, can be seen to the right of the frame in the foreground. The other…
- Description Long shadows are cast by the recently completed Deep Space Station 23 at the Deep Space Network’s Goldstone complex near Barstow, California, in August 2026. A 34-meter (114-foot) multifrequency beam-waveguide antenna, DSS-23 will boost the DSN’s capacity and enhance NASA’s deep space…
- Description Leadership from NASA Headquarters, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Deep Space Network (DSN) stand in front of the recently completed Deep Space Station 23 antenna at the Deep Space Network’s Goldstone complex near Barstow, California, on Aug. 25, 2026. From left: Germaine Aziz…
- The US space agency's telescope is starting a multi-year mission to create a new map of the universe and learn more about dark energy and dark matter.
Coverage
- The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will take a broad survey of space and use it to create a map of the universe.
- NASA’s attempt to save the falling Swift telescope failed, revealing the realities of the burgeoning field of satellite servicing.
- Astronomers are lining up to leverage NASA’s soon-to-launch Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which boasts capabilities unlike any previous off-world observatory
- NASA’s newest major observatory will include the most advanced planet-imaging tech ever flown in space. Here’s how it works
- NASA’s new Nancy Grace Roman space telescope will tackle nearly every aspect of astrophysics, including dark matter, dark energy and alien planets.
- NASA’s Roman Space Telescope will open a whole new window on the cosmos. Here are 10 things it’s likely to show us
- Astronomers will test equipment that, if it’s successful, will one day be crucial for discovering Earthlike planets.
- The Roman Space Telescope will spend more than a quarter of its time staring at the Milky Way’s bulge, a star-packed central region of our galaxy that may swarm with small, rocky exoplanets
- The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope will probe dark matter and dark energy, discover exoplanets and study stars
More coverage
- NASA is preparing to launch its new flagship space telescope on Sunday, embarking on a multiyear mission to create an unprecedented map of the cosmos and shed light on some of the biggest mysteries in physics.
- NASA's newest crown jewel blasted off Sunday to hunt for planets around other stars, explore secret dark energy and survey the cosmos like never before.