Roman Space Telescope lifts off on mission to survey a billion galaxies
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has launched, aiming to study dark matter, dark energy and exoplanets with a wide-field view.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
NASA has successfully launched its new Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a mission designed to survey more than a billion galaxies and study some of the biggest mysteries in the universe, including dark matter and dark energy. The telescope lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 7.26am local time (12.26 UK time).
The telescope will travel nearly a million miles from Earth to a point known as Lagrange point L2, where it will begin transmitting data. It has a mirror the same size as Hubble's, but a field of view at least 100 times wider, allowing it to scan large areas of sky quickly. Scientists say it will amass more data in two weeks than Hubble has collected in 36 years.
Roman is named after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA's first chief astronomer, who was instrumental in getting the Hubble Space Telescope off the ground. She was told as a girl that physics was not for her, but ignored that advice. The telescope is expected to return its first images next year. Its five-year mission will map more than a billion galaxies and could uncover more than 100,000 new exoplanets.
The launch went smoothly, with NASA administrator Jared Isaacman saying Roman would become a household name alongside Hubble and James Webb. The mission is seen as a major step in understanding the composition and fate of the universe.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | ITV |
|---|---|---|
| The telescope will scan 100 times more of the sky than Hubble. | ||
| The first images are expected next year. | · | |
| The Roman Space Telescope is named after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA's first chief astronomer. | · | |
| The Roman Space Telescope will amass more data in two weeks than Hubble has in 36 years. | · | |
| The Roman Space Telescope will measure dark matter and dark energy. | · | |
| The Roman Space Telescope will travel nearly 1 million miles to Lagrange point L2. | · | |
| The telescope will survey more than a billion galaxies. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC News provided a detailed pre-launch feature on the telescope's design and history, followed by live launch coverage. It focused on the technical specifications, the legacy of Nancy Grace Roman, and the expected scientific impact, including a quote from NASA's administrator.
- “It's going to be a game changer across pretty much all areas of modern astrophysics.”
- “It's named after the woman who was the driving force in driving funding for Hubble.”
- “I have no doubt that Roman will become a household name alongside those great instruments of discovery.”
ITV News emphasised the scientific potential of the telescope, comparing it directly with Hubble and James Webb. It highlighted the wide field of view and the hunt for exoplanets, and noted the telescope's namesake as a pioneering woman in astronomy.
- “Roman will discover tens of thousands of new planets, billions of galaxies, thousands of supernovae and tens of billions of stars.”
- “We're going to see a lot more objects at one time, which opens up a whole range in the new field of exoplanet hunting.”
- “Roman is named after NASA's first chief astronomer.”
Broadcast Timeline
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