SpaceX launched NASA's $4.3 billion telescope into space

SpaceX launched NASA's new space telescope, Nancy Grace Roman, from Florida. As part of the $4.3 billion project, scientists will study dark matter, dark energy, and planets beyond the solar system.

The telescope was launched into space aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket. It will be positioned approximately 1.6 million kilometers from Earth and will begin observations by the end of the year.

Using Roman, scientists will try to better understand how the universe is expanding and what role dark matter and dark energy play in this process. The telescope will also search for planets beyond the solar system, including ones that may resemble Earth in certain characteristics.

Its mirror is roughly equal in size to that of the Hubble telescope, but Roman has a much wider field-of-view camera. According to NASA's estimates, this will allow it to survey large areas of the sky about 1,000 times faster than Hubble.

It will take the telescope several months to reach its destination. After that, its systems will be tested for about three months, and the first images are expected to be released in 2027.

Source: Investing.com