NASA Sets Coverage for Roman Space Telescope Launch from Florida

Coverage plans are ready for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope prelaunch and launch activities. Roman is NASA’s next-generation observatory designed to explore some of the universe’s biggest mysteries, including dark energy.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting Roman’s liftoff for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch coverage begins at 6:20 a.m.

Live coverage of these events will stream through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

Named for NASA’s first chief astronomer, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will pair sharp infrared vision with a field of view at least 100 times larger than the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope. Its crisp, sweeping surveys will help scientists investigate dark energy and dark matter, discover and characterize exoplanets, map billions of galaxies, study black holes, and explore objects from our own solar system to the edge of the observable universe.

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. The mission has a five-year primary lifetime with a goal of operating for 10 years, and Roman’s science data will be publicly available after processing.

NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times are Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Saturday, Aug. 29

9 a.m.: NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Mission Science Briefing: The briefing will take place in the NASA Kennedy Press Site auditorium with the following participants:

Media may ask questions in person or by phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the briefing at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.

10:30 a.m.: NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Prelaunch News Conference: The news conference will take place in the NASA Kennedy Press Site auditorium with the following participants:

Media may ask questions in person or by phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the briefing at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.

11:45 a.m.: NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is expected to fly past the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and Falcon Heavy rocket on the launchpad in his jet. The flyby will be shown live on the same stream as the prelaunch news conference, with a view of the launch pad during the transition. The flyby is subject to weather and operational considerations.

12 p.m.: In-person interviews will take place in the NASA Kennedy Press News Center:

Previously credentialed media interested in scheduling an interview should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.

Sunday, Aug. 30

6:20 a.m.: Launch coverage begins.

7:26 a.m.: Launch

9:30 a.m.: Postlaunch news conference with the following participants:

Media may ask questions in person or by phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the news conference at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.

Audio-only coverage

Audio-only coverage of the launch will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, accessible by dialing 321-867-1220 or 321-867-1240. On launch day, mission audio countdown activities without NASA broadcast commentary will be carried on 321-867-7135.

Launch audio also will be available on Launch Information Service and Amateur Television System’s VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz and KSC Amateur Radio Club’s UHF radio frequency 444.925 MHz, FM mode, heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.

NASA website launch coverage

Launch day coverage will be available on the NASA website, including the livestream and blog updates as countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and launch photos will be available shortly after liftoff. Follow mission updates on the Roman launch blog.

Attend launch virtually

Members of the public may register to attend the Roman launch virtually. NASA’s Virtual Guest Program includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or schedule changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.

Watch, engage on social media

Let people know you’re watching the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by following and tagging these accounts:

The Roman telescope is managed at NASA Goddard with participation by the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, California; the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore; and a team of scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems Inc., L3Harris Technologies, and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging. Contributions to Roman also are made by ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), the French space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Roman mission.

For more information about NASA’s Roman telescope, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/roman

-end-

Alise FisherNASA Headquarters, Washington202-385-1287alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov

Leejay LockhartKennedy Space Center, Fla.321-747-8310leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov

Claire AndreoliGoddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.301-286-1940claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Full text from nasa.gov (public domain).