Roman Space Telescope Launches to Survey the Infrared Sky
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifted off on 30 August 2026, carrying European hardware to probe dark energy, dark matter, and exoplanets.
AfroEuropa Newsroom
AfroEuropa desk
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched on 30 August 2026, riding a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff occurred at 13:26 CEST (12:26 BST), according to the European Space Agency.
With the successful launch, the mission began surveying the sky across visible to near-infrared wavelengths. Its scientific aims include studying the nature of dark energy and dark matter, and investigating the diversity of exoplanets across our galaxy.
Roman is led by NASA, but ESA contributed hardware to the effort, supplying star trackers, batteries, and detectors for the coronagraph instrument. ESA will also provide communications support via its deep-space ground station network and enable data downloads through a new 35-metre antenna at New Norcia in Australia.
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