Florida's Space Coast is gearing up for a big Sunday morning as NASA prepares to launch its newest flagship observatory — the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope — from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County. Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. ET on August 30, with the telescope riding to orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
The Roman telescope is a substantial piece of hardware: 42 feet long and more than 14 feet wide, equipped with a wide multi-band near-infrared camera and a coronagraph instrument designed to block starlight and reveal distant exoplanets. Its primary science goals include studying dark energy and hunting for worlds beyond our solar system, building on decades of discoveries made by the Hubble and James Webb space observatories. The telescope will operate roughly 930,000 miles from Earth, facing away from the sun, for a primary mission of five years — with a potential five-year extension built in.
If you'd like to watch from home, NASA's live coverage begins at 6:20 a.m. ET and streams for free on the NASA+ app, Amazon Prime Video, discovery+, and YouTube. SpaceX will run its own webcast starting about an hour before the launch window opens, available on the SpaceX website and on X. Those hoping to see the rocket rise from the ground in person should keep an eye on local weather and cloud conditions ahead of Sunday morning.
After separation — expected roughly 30 minutes after liftoff — NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is scheduled to lead a post-launch news conference at 9:30 a.m. ET, also streaming on YouTube. Mission updates will be posted in real time on NASA's blog throughout the morning.
This story is based on reporting by Eric Lagatta for Florida Today.
