NASA posted coverage plans for the Roman Space Telescope launch from Florida. The agency and SpaceX target liftoff no earlier than 7:26 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 30. Live coverage begins at 6:20 a.m.
The observatory will ride a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Teams already sealed it inside the rocket fairing at Kennedy. Meanwhile, NASA says the Sunday window can still move with real-time operations.
Where to watch
Watch the countdown on NASA Live and on the agency’s official YouTube stream. SpaceX also lists a webcast about one hour before liftoff on its Roman mission page. Then the company will carry the same feed on X.
If Sunday slips, SpaceX lists a backup window on Monday, Aug. 31 at 7:22 a.m. ET. As a result, viewers should keep both mornings free. NASA also invites the public to join its Virtual Guest Program for alerts if the clock changes.
What NASA streams first
NASA starts the media program on Saturday, Aug. 29. The agency scheduled a mission science briefing for 9 a.m. ET. Then a prelaunch news conference follows at 10:30 a.m.
Administrator Jared Isaacman may fly past the stacked rocket at 11:45 a.m., weather permitting. However, NASA ties that flyby to the same stream as the news conference. On launch day, coverage starts at 6:20 a.m. NASA lists liftoff at 7:26 a.m. A postlaunch news conference follows at 9:30 a.m.
Coverage plans are ready for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope prelaunch and launch activities. The agency will also post blog updates and photos after the flight.
What Roman is built to do
NASA named the observatory for its first chief astronomer. Roman pairs infrared vision with a field of view at least 100 times larger than Hubble. Tech My Money flagged the August 30 target when NASA pulled the date forward.
After separation, Roman will travel to Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, about one million miles from Earth. The primary mission lasts five years, with a goal of 10. NASA will release the science data after processing.
Those wide surveys should map galaxies and hunt exoplanets. Still, launch day is the first public test. NASA is also flying a Swift rescue mission this year, so another space telescope is already on the agency’s plate.
