Technology

NASA's Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to lift off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy at 7:26 a.m. EDT on August 30, 2026, carrying a 300-megapixel infrared camera capable of imaging more than 50 times the sky area Hubble covered in 30 years, all within its first five years of operation. The $4.3 billion observatory will orbit at the Sun-Earth L2 point and is designed to advance research into dark energy, exoplanets, and large-scale cosmic structure. First science images are expected by early 2027 following a three-month commissioning period.

An oxidizer leak detected on Crew Dragon Grace's propulsion system during prelaunch processing on August 29, 2026 has postponed the Crew-13 mission, which had been scheduled for no earlier than September 12. NASA and SpaceX will conduct additional tests, data review, and necessary rework before announcing a new launch date. The delay disrupts NASA's plan to increase the frequency of U.S. crew-rotation missions to the International Space Station.