NASA’s next cutting-edge space telescope is due to take center stage.
The U.S. space agency is prepared to unveil the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope during a Tuesday, April 21, media event in Maryland. In the works for years, the observatory has finally been completed and is set to be shipped out to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will be prepared to launch as early as fall 2026 on a SpaceX rocket.
The latest flagship telescope in NASA’s fleet, the Roman telescope is meant to rove the cosmos nearly 1 million miles from Earth and work in concert with iconic observatories like the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes to solve some of the universe’s biggest mysteries.
In honor of Earth Day, see these photos of our planet from space
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The crew of Artemis II captured a breathtaking image of a celestial event known as an “Earthset,” in which the Earth dropped below the lunar horizon. The image is reminiscent of the iconic “Earthrise” photo that NASA astronaut Bill Anders captured in 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission that showed our planet rising on the lunar horizon.
Here’s what to know about the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and how to watch NASA’s livestream of its unveiling.
NASA to unveil next great space telescope
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope stands fully assembled, following the integration of its two major segments, in the clean room at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The mission is slated to launch by May 2027, but the team is on track for launch as early as fall 2026.
NASA is planning to unveil its next great space telescope Tuesday, April 21, to members of the media, according to a news release.
The instrument, known as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, was recently completely assembled inside NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. As the agency wraps up prelaunch testing, it is offering media one of the final chances to observe and document the fully-integrated telescope before it is launched to space.
Time, date, how to watch NASA live stream
A news conference will take place at 4 p.m. ET April 21 at the Goddard facility, which NASA will live stream on its YouTube channel.
The news conference, led by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, is not listed as a scheduled event on NASA+, the agency’s free online streaming service.
Livestream: Watch NASA press conferenceWhat is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope?
Named after NASA’s first chief astronomer, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s next flagship observatory that will reveal hundreds of millions of galaxies and study the nature of dark matter and dark energy.
Equipped with two advanced science instruments, the Roman telescope will make infrared observations from 930,000 miles away while faced in the direction opposite the sun. Envisioned to work in tandem with other iconic observatories like the James Webb Space Telescope, the Roman telescope is designed to discover new celestial objects that Webb and others could then explore further.
“Roman’s much larger field of view will reveal many such objects that were previously unknown,” Julie McEnery, Roman’s senior project scientist, said in a previous 2023 statement. “Since we’ve never had an observatory like this scanning the cosmos before, we could even find entirely new classes of objects and events.”
Central to the Roman telescope is the capability to offer a panoramic view of the cosmos, which will allow it to capture never-before-seen phenomena that NASA says could be revolutionary in astronomy. Amid the ongoing search for life beyond Earth, the telescope is also designed to discover thousands of new exoplanets – or worlds beyond the solar system – primarily through a technique called gravitational microlensing.
When, where will the space telescope launch?10 days, 10 photos. Here are the most stunning images from Artemis II
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The Artemis II mission launches April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The four-person crew aboard the Orion spacecraft hitched a ride to orbit atop NASA’s giant 322-foot Space Launch System rocket. Launching atop 8.8 million pounds of thrust, the SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA ever launched, about 17% more powerful than the iconic Saturn V rocket used during the Apollo era.
The telescope will hitch a ride to space atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, due to get off the ground from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA said.
Depending on how fast the team makes progress, the mission could launch as early as fall 2026 – or as late as May 2027, according to NASA.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASA’s Roman space telescope to push boundaries of cosmic discovery