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NASA Sets Coverage for Roman Space Telescope Launch from Florida

Aug. 28, 2026

An encapsulated spacecraft surrounded by two large halves of a payload fairing inside a cleanroom, with two technicians in blue cleanroom suits standing in the foreground looking at it.

Teams inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida encapsulate the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope within the payload fairing on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, ahead of mating to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Encapsulation shields the spacecraft during rollout, ascent, and the early phases of flight. Roman will investigate dark energy and dark matter, conduct a statistical census of planetary systems, and enable a broad range of additional astrophysics research. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy is targeted for no earlier than Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026.

Credit: NASA/Sydney Rohde (Rocz)

The flagship telescope includes the Roman Coronagraph Instrument, a technology demonstration designed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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