The broadcast will begin at 5:20 a.m. on Sunday; NASA and SpaceX have scheduled liftoff for no earlier than 6:26 a.m., Houston time.
The NASA Roman Telescope launch is scheduled for Sunday, August 30, from Florida. In Houston, the broadcast will start at 5:20 a.m., and liftoff is scheduled for no earlier than 6:26 a.m.
SpaceX will use a Falcon Heavy rocket to send the observatory from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The time could change due to weather, technical conditions, or mission operations.
The broadcast will begin 66 minutes before liftoff
NASA will offer live coverage of the countdown, liftoff, and the early stages of flight. These are the times converted to the Central Time zone used by Houston:
| Event | Time in Houston |
|---|---|
| Transmission start | 5:20 a.m. |
| Liftoff expected | 6:26 a.m. |
| Post-launch briefing | 8:30 a.m. |
Coverage will be available on NASA Live, the official platform to follow the Roman telescope launch. The liftoff can also be followed via updates published during the countdown.
NASA uses the phrase “no earlier than” because a mission can be postponed even in the final minutes. The schedule should be reviewed again before the start of the broadcast.
The launch of the Roman telescope will begin its journey toward L2
After separating from the rocket, Roman will begin its journey toward the second Lagrange point between the Sun and Earth, known as L2. That region lies roughly one million miles — 1.6 million kilometers — from our planet.
The primary mission is expected to last five years, though NASA aims to keep the observatory operating for a decade.
The Roman telescope mission will study dark energy and dark matter, two components of the universe that scientists still do not fully understand. It will also search for exoplanets, observe black holes, and help build maps of billions of galaxies.
Roman will observe areas much larger than the Hubble telescope
The Roman primary mirror measures 7.9 feet — 2.4 meters — in diameter, essentially the same size as the Hubble Space Telescope’s mirror. The difference will lie in how much sky it can observe at once.
Its field of view will be at least 100 times larger than Hubble’s. This will allow studying vast areas without losing the sharpness needed to distinguish galaxies, stars, and other distant objects.
Roman will primarily use infrared light, invisible to the human eye. Its observations will enable tracking changes in the sky, finding objects that are difficult to detect, and gathering large amounts of data for future research.
The launch occurs a few days after the partial lunar eclipse visible from Houston, which reached its peak on the night of August 27.
The schedule remains subject to change. NASA will update the countdown and any possible postponements on its official webcast.
