SpaceXFalcon HeavyLaunch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Falcon Heavy | Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
Countdown
No countdown — this launch time is not yet known to the minute.August 30, 2026 · 11:26 UTCAdd to calendar
Image: SpaceX
SpaceX's 724th launch · 105th this year · humanity's 7,379th orbital launch attempt
The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).
Weather concerns: Cumulus Cloud Rule, Surface Electric Fields Rule
Window: Aug 30, 11:25 – Aug 30, 11:26 UTC
Flight preview
Airspace & maritime notices
- Cape Canaveral, FL, Sunday, August 30, 2026 Local — 260830 SpaceX WFIRST X3726 FCS · Expired · up to 18,000 ft
Matched by proximity to the pad · Source
- Sector Jacksonville, Territorial Sea - Sector Jacksonville, Submerged Land Act (SLA)/Space Operations/Hazardous Warning Area/Commercial (Hazardous) · Expired
Matched by proximity to the pad · Source
- Cape Canaveral, FL, Sunday, August 30, 2026 Local — 260830 SpaceX WFIRST X3726 FCS ZJX · Expired · up to 18,000 ft
Matched by proximity to the pad · Source
- Sector Jacksonville, Territorial Sea - Sector Jacksonville, Submerged Land Act (SLA)/Space Operations/Active RNA/Commercial (RNA) · Expired · standing regulated area
Matched by proximity to the pad · Source
- NAVAREA IV - District 7, Oceanic boundary to EEZ/Space Operations/Hazardous Warning Area/Commercial (Hazardous) · Expired
Matched by proximity to the pad · Source
- Cape Canaveral, FL, Monday, August 31, 2026 Local — 260831 SpaceX WFIRST X3726 FCS ZJX · Expired · up to 18,000 ft
Matched by proximity to the pad · Source
- Cape Canaveral, FL, Monday, August 31, 2026 Local — 260831 SpaceX WFIRST X3726 FCS · Expired · up to 18,000 ft
Matched by proximity to the pad · Source
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is a NASA infrared space telescope with a 2.4 m (7.9 ft) wide field of view primary mirror and two scientific instruments. The Wide-Field Instrument (WFI) is a 300.8-megapixel multi-band visible and near-infrared camera, providing a sharpness of images comparable to that achieved by the Hubble Space Telescope over a 0.28 square degree field of view, 100 times larger than imaging cameras on the Hubble. The Coronagraphic Instrument (CGI) is a high-contrast, small field of view camera and spectrometer covering visible and near-infrared wavelengths using novel starlight-suppression technology. Roman objectives include a search for extra-solar planets using gravitational microlensing, and probing the expansion history of the Universe and the growth of cosmic structure, with the goal of measuring the effects of dark energy, the consistency of general relativity, and the curvature of spacetime.
Astrophysics · Sun-Earth L2 (L2)
Booster
- B1104 · flight 1 · Return to Launch Site @ Landing Zone 40 · landed · zone record 6/6
- B1072 · flight 3 · Return to Launch Site @ Landing Zone 2 · landed · last flew Falcon Heavy | ViaSat-3 F3 (ViaSat-3 Asia-Pacific) · zone record 19/19
- B1105 · flight 1 · expendable · zone record 38/42
Watch
Flight timeline
- T−53MGO for Prop Load
- T−50MStage 1 Propellant Load
- T−45MStage 1 LOX Load
- T−35MStage 2 Propellant Load
- T−18M30SStage 2 LOX Load
- T−7MEngine Chill
- T−59SStartup
- T−45SGO for Launch
- T−20STank Press
- T−6SIgnition
- T−0Liftoff
- T+1M8SMax-Q
- T+2M24SSBECO
- T+2M27SBoosters Separation
- T+2M32SBoosters Flip
- T+2M43SBoosters Boostback Burn Startup
- T+3M48SBoosters Boostback Burn Shutdown
- T+3M51SMECO
- T+3M54SStage 2 Separation
- T+4MSES-1
- T+4M15SFairing Separation
- T+6M19SBoosters Entry Burn Startup
- T+6M29SBoosters Entry Burn Shutdown
- T+7M23SBoosters Landing Burn
- T+7M40SBoosters Landing
- T+8M28SSECO-1
- T+24M33SSES-2
- T+26M32SSECO-2
- T+31M31SPayload Separation
Updates
Launch success with telescope solar panels/sunshade deployed.
Cosmic_Penguin · 8/30/2026 · source
Payload deployed.
hitura-nobad · 8/30/2026 · source
Liftoff!
hitura-nobad · 8/30/2026 · source
Updated launch weather, 70% GO.
Cosmic_Penguin · 8/30/2026 · source
Official Webcast by NASA has started
LL2 · 8/30/2026 · source
Now targeting Aug 30 at 11:26 UTC
hitura-nobad · 8/30/2026 · source
Updated launch weather, 50% GO (launch window per https://x.com/spaceflightnow/status/2093717878302216462).
Cosmic_Penguin · 8/29/2026 · source
Now targeting Aug 30 at 11:25 UTC
hitura-nobad · 8/29/2026 · source
Updated launch weather, 60% GO.
Cosmic_Penguin · 8/28/2026 · source
GO for launch.
Cosmic_Penguin · 8/20/2026 · source
News
Igniting Roman’s Journey
Now on a three-month, million-mile journey to its final orbit, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will soon reveal the universe’s darkest secrets. The mission launched at 7:26 a.m. EDT on Aug. 30 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Roman pairs a large […]
Roman Space Telescope Headed to Deep Space
The observatory will shed new light on the mystery of dark energy, observe distant exoplanets, and explore the structure of the universe.
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launches
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, transits the Sun during launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 30, 2026. Roman is named after the agency’s first chief astronomer. Roman will survey billions of stars and galaxies with a field of view far larger than Hubble’s, […]
Roman Commissioning
Where is Roman? Roman is making its three-month journey from Earth to Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2, or L2. Along the way, Roman is undergoing a process called commissioning, where systems are turned on, adjusted, calibrated, and prepared for science operations. Commissioning is the time for scientists and engineers to make sure that Roman is performing […]
Roman lifts off on a mission to survey the infrared sky
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, at 07:26 EDT / 12:26 BST/ 13:26 CEST on 30 August 2026. With the successful launch, Roman began its mission to survey the sky in visible to near-infrared light to help reveal the nature of dark energy and dark matter. The telescope will also investigate the true diversity of exoplanets in our galaxy.
APOD: 2026 August 31 – Launch of the Roman Space Telescope
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 31 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. To view this […]
Pad — Launch Complex 39A
Local pad time: Aug 30, 7:26 AM EDT
223 launches from this pad · 282 from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
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