NASA sets Aug. 30 launch for Roman Telescope

NASA's next great space telescope is almost ready to fly. On Sunday, Aug. 30, the Roman Space Telescope is set to launch from Florida. It rides a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, if all goes to plan. NASA confirmed its media coverage schedule for the launch on Aug. 24. Roman's camera can capture about 100 times more sky in one shot than Hubble's.

Roman is built to answer one of astronomy's biggest open questions. Why is the universe's expansion speeding up, not slowing down? Scientists call the mysterious force behind that dark energy. Nobody knows what it actually is. Roman will also hunt for planets outside our solar system. It scans far more sky per image than any NASA telescope before it. It's the agency's biggest flagship mission since the James Webb Space Telescope launched in 2021.

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Will Sunday's launch actually happen on schedule? NASA and SpaceX are both calling Aug. 30 a "no earlier than" date. That leaves room for a weather delay or a technical hold. It's normal caution for a mission this expensive, and this closely watched.