Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launch

Dr. Lucas Paganini, program executive for the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope in the Astrophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, holds a jar of lucky peanuts, as teams monitor the countdown inside Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for the launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with NASA’S Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in Florida. Roman will investigate dark energy and dark matter, conduct a statistical census of planetary systems, and enable a broad range of additional astrophysics research. Launch occurred at 7:26 a.m. EDT. Photo Credit (NASA/Joel Kowsky)