RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is encapsulated within the payload fairing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of mating to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for launch.
Credit: NASA/Sydney Rohde (Rocz)
Coverage plans are ready for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope prelaunch and launch activities. Roman is NASA’s next-generation observatory designed to explore some of the universe’s biggest mysteries, including dark energy.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting Roman’s liftoff for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch coverage begins at 6:20 a.m.
Live coverage of these events will stream through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:
https://www.nasa.gov/live
Named for NASA’s first chief astronomer, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will pair sharp infrared vision with a field of view at least 100 times larger than the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope. Its crisp, sweeping surveys will help scientists investigate dark energy and dark matter, discover and characterize exoplanets, map billions of galaxies, study black holes, and explore objects from our own solar system to the edge of the observable universe.
After launch and separation from the rocket, Roman will travel to the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, or L2, about one million miles from Earth. The mission has a five-year primary lifetime with a goal of operating for 10 years, and Roman’s science data will be publicly available after processing.
NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times are Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Saturday, Aug. 29
9 a.m.: NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Mission Science Briefing : The briefing will take place in the NASA Kennedy Press Site auditorium with the following participants:
Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters
Julie McEnery, Roman telescope senior project scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Vanessa Bailey, Roman Coronagraph Instrument scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Kristen McQuinn, Roman Science Operations Center lead, Space Telescope Science Institute
Lee Armus, Roman Science Support Center lead, Caltech/IPAC
Media may ask questions in person or by phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the briefing at: [email protected] .
10:30 a.m.: NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Prelaunch News Conference : The news conference will take place in the NASA Kennedy Press Site auditorium with the following participants:
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Lucas Paganini, Roman telescope program executive, NASA Headquarters
Jackie Townsend, Roman telescope project manager, NASA Goddard
Denton Gibson, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program, NASA Kennedy
Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science and Dragon Programs, SpaceX
Justin McReynolds, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Space Force
Media may ask questions in person or by phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the briefing at: [email protected] .
11:45 a.m.: NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is expected to fly past the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and Falcon Heavy rocket on the launchpad in his jet. The flyby will be shown live on the same stream as the prelaunch news conference, with a view of the launch pad during the transition. The flyby is subject to weather and operational considerations.
12 p.m.: In-person interviews will take place in the NASA Kennedy Press News Center:
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Lucas Paganini, Roman telescope program executive, NASA Headquarters
Dalia Kirschbaum, acting director, Sciences and Exploration Directorate, NASA Goddard
Josh Schlieder, Roman telescope project scientist, NASA Goddard
Jason Hylan, Roman telescope flight segment and observatory manager, NASA Goddard
Bertrand Mennesson, Roman Coronagraph Instrument project scientist, NASA JPL
Jeff Hanke, president, Space Systems, Space and Mission Systems, L3Harris Technologies
Wendy Minotti, program manager, Exquisite Imaging, Space and Mission Systems, L3Harris Technologies
Bonnie Patterson, vice president and general manager, Civil Space, Space and Mission Systems, BAE Systems
Sarah Lipscy, director, Strategic Operations, Space and Mission Systems, BAE Systems
Previously credentialed media interested in scheduling an interview should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom at: [email protected] .
Sunday, Aug. 30
6:20 a.m.: Launch coverage begins.
7:26 a.m.: Launch
9:30 a.m.: Postlaunch news conference with the following participants:
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Jackie Townsend, Roman telescope project manager, NASA Goddard
Julie McEnery, Roman telescope senior project scientist, NASA Goddard
Denton Gibson, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program, NASA Kennedy
Media may ask questions in person or by phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the news conference at: [email protected] .
Audio-only coverage
Audio-only coverage of the launch will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, accessible by dialing 321-867-1220 or 321-867-1240. On launch day, mission audio countdown activities without NASA broadcast commentary will be carried on...
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