NASA launches $4B Roman astronomical observatory to explore depths of space

NASA has launched its new flagship astronomical observatory, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, on a mission to explore some of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics and cosmology. The telescope, a repurposed spy satellite, was carried into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday. According to Daily Maverick, the project cost roughly $4 billion.

The observatory will investigate cosmic enigmas such as dark energy and dark matter, while also testing gravity at vast scales and searching for exoplanets. MyJoyOnline Ghana reports that the telescope will capture vast panoramic views of space, with a field of vision 100 times larger than both the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. The mission begins with a 100-day journey to a vantage point roughly one million miles from Earth, where the telescope will then start charting planets outside our solar system.

US President Donald Trump congratulated the scientists working on the project during a NASA news conference on Sunday morning. Space.com reports that Trump interrupted the press conference to praise the team, despite previously trying to cancel the mission. The telescope's mission is planned for five years, though NASA said it may have enough fuel for five additional years. According to Julie McEnery, Roman telescope senior project scientist, the launch marked a starting point for scientists to explore the unknown.

Brief written by urgent.news from CBC News, CBC News, Daily Maverick, MyJoyOnline Ghana, Space.com — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.