NASA's Rome Space Telescope Launches SpaceX Falcon Heavy to Reveal Secrets of Dark Energy

NASA’s newest space telescope, the $4.3 billion Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, blasted off Sunday (Aug. 30) aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, beginning a mission designed to change scientists’ understanding of planets, galaxies and the mysterious forces that shape the universe.

The bus-sized telescope lifted off shortly after dawn from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is now headed for an observation point about 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) from Earth, which is also home to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

Roman is expected to take more than three months to reach his destination. Once operational, it will explore vast swathes of space at a speed and scale unmatched by existing space telescopes.

A space exploration novel

The biggest advantage of binoculars is their huge field of view. Roman can see an area of the sky more than 100 times wider than the Hubble Space Telescope while maintaining comparable sensitivity.

This will allow astronomers to quickly survey large regions of space and identify rare and distant objects that Webb and other observatories can then study in more detail.

Roman’s infrared camera is designed to make observations much faster than Hubble. The telescope will also conduct an extensive survey of the Milky Way’s central bulge, giving scientists an unprecedented look into the crowded heart of our galaxy.

Search for planets outside our solar system

One of Romano’s main goals will be to search for planets orbiting stars beyond the Sun.

Its wide field of view will allow scientists to identify a large number of distant worlds. An experimental coronagraph on board the telescope will also attempt to block glare from stars, potentially allowing Roman to directly image the faint planets orbiting them.

The discoveries could give Webb and other observatories targets for detailed follow-up observations.

Dark matter and dark energy

The novel will also address some of the biggest unanswered questions in modern cosmology, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

Although these mysterious components are thought to make up most of the universe, they cannot be directly observed in the same way as ordinary matter.

By mapping billions of galaxies and studying how they are spaced out and how their distances change over time, scientists hope Roman will provide new clues about the expansion of the universe and the forces that drive it.

Roman’s observations will complement the work of Hubble and Webb, as well as the European Space Agency’s Euclid spacecraft and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile.

Dramatic Falcon Heavy landing

The launch also put on a spectacular show shortly after launch.

The Falcon Heavy’s two reusable side boosters returned to Earth and landed tail-first at Cape Canaveral, producing sharp sonic booms as they landed.

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Named after NASA pioneer Nancy Grace Roman

The telescope is named after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer and a key figure in the development of the agency’s space astronomy program.

Roman joined NASA in 1959 and strongly advocated for observatories above Earth’s atmosphere where they would not be affected by atmospheric distortion.

Her work helped pave the way for the Hubble Space Telescope and earned her the nickname “Mother of Hubble.” Roman died in 2018 at the age of 93.

The new observatory is NASA’s first space telescope named after a woman.

Built for the long mission

Roman’s primary mirror is nearly 8 feet (2.4 meters) across, about the same size as Hubble’s. Interestingly, the mirror was originally made for a different purpose: it was one of two surplus spy satellite mirrors donated by the National Reconnaissance Office to NASA more than a decade ago.

The telescope is also designed with future refueling in mind. If robotic spacecraft capable of handling it become available within the next decade, Roman’s operational life could potentially be extended.

The mission launched nearly a year ahead of schedule and under budget, giving NASA another powerful observatory in the search for answers to some of the universe’s most enduring mysteries.

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