NASA picks SpaceX to launch Roman Space Telescope

NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch service for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope mission. The mission currently is targeted to launch in October 2026, as specified in the NASA Launch Services (NLS) II contract, on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The telescope, previously known as the Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST), is designed to unravel the secrets of dark energy and dark matter, search for and image exoplanets, and explore many topics in infrared astrophysics.

According to the mission page, the Roman Space Telescope will have a primary mission lifetime of 5 years, with a potential 5-year extended mission. The space-based observatory is expected to collect far more data than any other NASA astrophysics mission before it.

With a view 100 times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope, Roman will generate never-before-seen big pictures of the universe to help astronomers explore some of the greatest mysteries of the cosmos. It will have two instruments:

• 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument - With 100 times greater field-of-view than the Hubble infrared instrument, it can capture more of the sky with less observing time. This means a single Roman image will hold the equivalent detail of 100 pictures from Hubble.
• Coronagraph Instrument to perform high contrast imaging and spectroscopy of individual nearby exoplanets (planets beyond our solar system).

According to NASA, the total cost for the agency to launch the Roman telescope is approximately USD255 million, which includes the launch service and other mission-related costs.

NASA has selected Falcon Heavy to launch the Roman Space Telescope, which is designed to study dark energy and dark matter, search for and image exoplanets, and more. Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than October 2026 from Launch Complex 39A in Florida https://t.co/lZ0q79RmVh pic.twitter.com/pwPqEZLSEc

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 19, 2022