The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is seen launching on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. (Photo: Nasa)

Nancy Grace Roman Telescope launched to find new planets, unravel cosmic mysteries

Nasa's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has launched aboard SpaceX's Falcon Heavy and begun its journey to L2. Here's what we can expect next from humanity's fresh set of eyes in orbit.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Nancy Grace Roman Telescope launched on SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Florida
  • Journey to L2 will take about a month with onboard manoeuvres
  • Roman will survey large sky areas to study dark energy and galaxies

Nasa's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has successfully lifted off, beginning its journey into deep space aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

The telescope launched at around 4:57 pm IST from Launch Complex 39A at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US, beginning a mission that could change how scientists study the universe.

WATCH THE ROMAN TELESCOPE TAKE OFF HERE:

Watch @SpaceX launch the @NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope into space!$SPCX #SpaceX pic.twitter.com/RWx55VP92P

— Gill (@TraderGillx) August 30, 2026

ROMAN OFF TO UNRAVEL SPACE SECRETS

Following the closely watched launch, the Roman telescope is now on its journey towards the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, or L2, roughly 15 lakh km from Earth.

Unlike a conventional satellite that orbits Earth, Roman will operate around the Sun-Earth L2 region, giving it a wide and relatively unobstructed view of the universe.

The journey is expected to take about a month.

An artist's concept of the Nancy Grace Space Telescope. (Photo: Nasa)

Once Roman is on its way to L2, it will use its onboard propulsion system to make the manoeuvres needed to reach its planned orbit around the region.

Reaching L2, however, does not mean Roman would immediately begin scientific observations.

Nasa plans a roughly three-month commissioning period, during which engineers will deploy, activate and check the observatory's systems and instruments and prepare the telescope for science operations.

A screengrab shows the separation of parts during the launch of Nancy Grace Roman Telescope. (Photo: Screengrab/Nasa)

WHY IS NANCY GRACE ROMAN TELESCOPE A BIG DEAL?

Roman is designed to survey enormous areas of the sky rather than focus on individual objects.

Its 2.4-metre primary mirror is similar in size to Hubble's, but its Wide Field Instrument can observe an area of sky at least 100 times larger than Hubble's field of view in a single observation.

The telescope will investigate dark energy and dark matter, study how galaxies evolve and search for planets beyond our solar system.

In other words, while the James Webb Space Telescope can zoom in on cosmic objects in extraordinary detail, Roman is designed to survey the bigger picture.

Once testing is complete, Roman will begin its planned science surveys, building an enormous map of the universe and collecting data that could help answer some of astronomy's biggest questions.

- Ends