This Weekend Sees Launch of Roman Space Telescope to Look at Dark Matter, Early Universe

Published 08/27/2026 at 7:05 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Portland, Oregon) - Get ready for another fascinating launch into space. This time, it's NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will train its electronic eyes into sights, places - and times - where none of mankind's tech has really gone before.

“Roman is NASA’s next-generation observatory designed to explore some of the universe’s biggest mysteries, including dark energy,” said NASA.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting liftoff for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 30. Roman will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Live coverage begins at 6:20 a.m. and will stream on NASA’s digital platforms, including NASA TV and nasa.gov/live.

Named for NASA’s first chief astronomer, the Roman Space Telescope will deliver wide-field infrared views at least 100 times larger than those of the Hubble Space Telescope. Its surveys will probe dark energy and dark matter, map billions of galaxies, study black holes, and search for and characterize exoplanets across the Milky Way. Roman’s Coronagraph Instrument is designed to directly image planets by blocking starlight, potentially capturing one of the first true Jupiter analogs.

Full photo NASA

“After launch and separation from the rocket, Roman will travel to the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, or L2, about one million miles from Earth,” said NASA.

The mission has a five-year primary timeline, with a goal of operating for a decade. All science data will be publicly released after processing.

Roman’s sensitivity will allow scientists to detect supermassive black holes and tidal disruption events from as far back as 11 billion years. The mission is also expected to discover thousands of distant worlds, including planets similar to those in our own solar system, and accelerate the search for potentially habitable environments ahead of future missions such as the Habitable Worlds Observatory.

The universe, seen from Rockaway Beach on the Oregon coast

NASA’s schedule for mission coverage (Eastern time, subject to change):

Saturday, Aug. 29
9 a.m.: Roman Space Telescope Mission Science Briefing at the Kennedy Press Site auditorium.

Sunday, Aug. 30
6:20 a.m.: Launch coverage begins.
7:26 a.m.: Launch.
9:30 a.m.: Postlaunch news conference.

NASA will provide real-time updates, livestreams, and countdown coverage on its website. On-demand video and launch imagery will be posted shortly after liftoff, with continuing updates on the Roman launch blog.

Members of the public can register as virtual guests for the launch. NASA’s Virtual Guest Program offers curated resources, event notifications, and a digital passport stamp following liftoff.

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