NASA launches Roman telescope, first images expected in 2027

On Sunday, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in picture-perfect weather. On board was NASA's Nancy Grace Roman space telescope. According to NASA, the launch was successful, and around 70 minutes later, Roman contacted the ground station via the Deep Space Network.

The telescope was built for infrared observations. It is now set to be directed to the L2 Lagrange point. The antennas in Canberra, Madrid and the Goldstone complex in California will take turns maintaining the connection with Earth. One hour and 23 minutes after launch, Roman deploys its solar panels; further components are due to follow in the coming days.

Roman is intended to complement James Webb and the ESA space telescope Euclid. Euclid surveys larger areas of the sky, but with less detail. Both missions are devoted to questions surrounding dark matter and dark energy. NASA has planned three months for commissioning and expects the first images in early 2027.

In concrete terms, this means researchers will have another instrument that can complement Euclid's sky surveys and James Webb's detailed observations. It will only be possible to assess from the measurement data whether, and to what extent, Roman advances the open questions surrounding dark matter and dark energy. Until then, the launch marks a successful start to a mission that is not yet complete.

The success also has a political backstory. In April 2025, the White House proposed halving NASA funding for research; Roman would then not have been completed or launched. The US Congress prevented that. After the launch, President Donald Trump praised the work of NASA chief Jared Isaacman and the team.