Nasa space telescope set to launch after surviving Trump budget cuts

The Roman space telescope has successfully launched from Florida, overcoming attempts by the Trump administration to cut its funding. The $4.3 billion telescope, named after its creator, aims to search for exoplanets and gain insights into planetary formation. It will begin a million-mile journey into deep space from the Kennedy Space Center, joining Hubble and James Webb in NASA's space exploration history.

The Roman telescope, designed to be 100 times more powerful than Hubble, features a 300-megapixel infrared camera and a coronagraph that blocks starlight to capture detailed images of planets. It will operate at Lagrange point 2, a million miles from Earth, where it will complement Hubble and Webb's missions and provide comprehensive data.

The telescope's five-year mission, slated to begin in early 2027, will offer unprecedented access to celestial objects, assisting in the understanding of dark matter, dark energy, and exoplanets. Despite initial rejection by Congress, the project was restored, and the successful launch marks a significant step forward in our exploration of the universe.