Roman lifts off from pad 39A and separates from its rocket 32 minutes later
NASA's Roman Space Telescope lifted off from pad 39A aboard a Falcon Heavy on Sunday morning, and the agency reported separation 32 minutes later. The observatory is heading to the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point to map galaxies, search for planets around other stars and measure dark energy. The mission advanced from the vertical rollout reported earlier in the day to an actual launch.
Science··Evening
A Falcon Heavy carried Roman off the Florida coast
Roman lifted off at 7:26 a.m. EDT on Sunday from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SpaceX Falcon Heavy's 27 Merlin engines carried the observatory off the pad, split between a centre core and two side boosters. NASA reported that Roman made contact through a tracking and data relay satellite at 7:56 and separated from the second stage at 7:58. The agency describes the observatory as roughly the size and weight of a school bus. The rocket and telescope stack had been raised vertical at the same pad the day before, preparing the pad for the launch window. Space.com had reported that the Falcon Heavy stack was rolled to pad 39A and raised vertical on Saturday and that NASA and SpaceX were targeting a Sunday morning liftoff. That targeted launch took place on Sunday morning and the mission has now moved into the climb toward its destination.[1], [2]
The solar array and sun shield were due to deploy
NASA said Roman's solar array and sun shield were due to unfold within half an hour of separation. Its six panels both supply power and shade the instruments. The agency said the observatory would be followed by its Near Space and Deep Space Networks together with ground stations run by the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Roman's field of view is put at least 100 times wider than Hubble's, a width that will let it sweep far more galaxies in a single pass. Before launch NASA announced two briefings for the same day, one on the science and one before launch, meant to lay out the mission's science goals and the countdown plan. Timely deployment of the array and shield is treated as a critical first step so the observatory can draw power and keep its instruments shaded.[1]
The path to the Lagrange point is under way
The telescope is now on a trajectory to the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, about 1.6 million kilometres from Earth, where its wide surveys are meant to map galaxies, look for planets around other stars and measure dark energy. Space.com reported that the observatory, which will probe dark energy and run a statistical census of planetary systems, is to be sent toward the Sun-Earth L2 point after liftoff. The rollout to the pad had opened the mission's final preparation phase; Sunday morning's launch completed that step. Roman's wide field will capture a much larger slice of sky in one frame than earlier-generation observatories. That capacity is meant to build statistically meaningful samples, especially for dark energy work and searches for planets around other stars. NASA had earlier said the observatory is bound for a point about 1.6 million kilometres from Earth once it leaves the pad.[1], [2]
