{"id":8014,"date":"2026-08-30T16:07:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T16:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8014"},"modified":"2026-08-30T16:07:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T16:07:39","slug":"nasas-newest-space-telescope-launches-aboard-spacex-rocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8014","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s newest space telescope launches aboard SpaceX rocket"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By MARCIA DUNN, Associated Press<\/p>\n

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) \u2014 NASA\u2019s newest crown jewel blasted off Sunday to hunt for planets around other stars, explore secret dark energy and survey the cosmos like never before.<\/p>\n

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SpaceX launched the $4.3 billion Roman Space Telescope shortly after daybreak aboard a triple-the-fire-power Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center. Roman blazed toward an observation point 1 million miles away that\u2019s home to the Webb Space Telescope, one of NASA\u2019s other big-ticket eyes in the sky.<\/p>\n

The bus-sized telescope \u2014 named after the late Nancy Grace Roman, NASA\u2019s first chief astronomer \u2014 will take more than three months to reach its destination. Once there, it will cast the widest gaze yet on the hidden parts of the universe from space, uncovering the unimaginable with unsurpassed speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to find thousands of supernovae, tens of thousands of planets, billions of galaxies and tens of billions of stars,\u201d said NASA science mission director Nicky Fox. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be able to do things that we\u2019ve never been able to do before with its massive field of view.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several minutes after the thunderous launch, the rocket\u2019s two reusable side boosters descended tail-first in a thrilling scene, producing sharp sonic booms as they landed back at Cape Canaveral. Soon afterward, the telescope separated successfully from the rocket\u2019s upper stage, drawing applause from ground controllers.<\/p>\n

Fox was in tears watching the action unfold. \u201cIt\u2019s such a good day!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Roman\u2019s field of view is more than 100 times wider than that of NASA\u2019s Hubble Space Telescope, still churning out celestial glamour shots after 36 years in orbit. Webb joined the effort several years ago with an even narrower yet spot-on vision capable of zooming in on objects almost as old as the universe-creating Big Bang.<\/p>\n

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These three orbiting powerhouses will join forces \u2014 along with the European Space Agency\u2019s Euclid spacecraft and the National Science Foundation\u2019s Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile \u2014 to reveal some of the universe\u2019s biggest secrets.<\/p>\n

Inside the countless galaxies awaiting discovery are stars with planets. Once these new worlds are spotted by Roman, the more powerful and sensitive Webb will take aim to fill in the blanks.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoman\u2019s vast reach will allow us to find the weird, the rare and the unusual,\u201d senior project scientist Julie McEnery said on the eve of launch. \u201cWe\u2019ll redefine what it means to find a needle in a haystack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps even more important, astronomers expect Roman to shed light on the dark matter and dark energy that make up most of the universe yet remain concealed. Roman\u2019s catalog of galaxies will help scientists ascertain how quickly the universe is expanding due to these puzzling, unseen forces.<\/p>\n

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Roman\u2019s superpower is speed.<\/p>\n

A month of Milky Way observations by Roman would take Hubble a century to complete, according to McEnery. Roman should make quick work of scanning the galactic bulge at dead center, she added, providing the deepest look yet into the heart of our galaxy.<\/p>\n

Besides a wide-field infrared camera that matches Hubble\u2019s sensitivity but is 1,000 times faster, Roman holds an instrument to block out starlight. This experimental, eclipse-creating coronagraph will allow Roman to directly image any planet, however faint, that might be orbiting the masked star.<\/p>\n

The telescope is designed to be refueled, meaning if a robotic tanker becomes available in the coming decade, that could extend its life.<\/p>\n

Launching nearly a year ahead of schedule and within budget, Roman is NASA\u2019s first space telescope to be named after a woman.<\/p>\n

Retired NASA scientist Ed Weiler said the honor is long overdue. He coined the phrase \u201cMother of Hubble\u201d for Roman, who hired him in 1978. Observatories above Earth\u2019s obscuring atmosphere can see farther and better, she insisted after joining the brand new NASA in 1959. She died in 2018 at age 93.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is very, very fitting. I think Nancy would be very proud\u201d that the namesake telescope will tackle some of the biggest, lingering questions about the universe such as dark energy, Weiler said.<\/p>\n

Hubble launched in 1990 with a flawed mirror that required spacewalking astronauts\u2019 dramatic intervention. Roman\u2019s primary mirror is the same size as Hubble\u2019s \u2014 nearly 8 feet (2.4 meters) in diameter \u2014 and is actually spy satellite surplus.<\/p>\n

The National Reconnaissance Office donated two leftover mirrors to NASA more than a decade ago for repurposing. The second mirror is still in storage.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n

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The bus-sized telescope will take more than three months to reach its destination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNASA\u2019s newest space telescope launches aboard SpaceX rocket - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8014\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NASA\u2019s newest space telescope launches aboard SpaceX rocket - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The bus-sized telescope will take more than three months to reach its destination.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8014\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-30T16:07:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8014#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8014\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"NASA\u2019s newest space telescope launches aboard SpaceX rocket\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-30T16:07:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8014\"},\"wordCount\":821,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8014#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/eb83bf3d84c8f2916e36916244df5412-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8014#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8014\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8014\",\"name\":\"NASA\u2019s newest space telescope launches aboard SpaceX rocket - 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