Roman Space Telescope Travels to SpaceX Hangar

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, encapsulated in its payload fairing, travels from the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility to the SpaceX hangar at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, ahead of mating to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Roman’s science instruments are designed to help researchers understand dark […].

Roman Space Telescope Travels to SpaceX Hangar. Roman’s science instruments are designed to help researchers understand dark energy, the mysterious force accelerating the universe’s expansion. The observatory also will map how galaxies form, cluster, and evolve by tracing the influence of dark matter.

Liftoff from NASA Kennedy is targeted no earlier than Sunday, Aug.

NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in California is marking the addition of a brand new 34-meter-wide (114-foot-wide) radio frequency antenna to the agency’s deep space communications and navigation system. The network uses giant dish antennas located at three global facilities to support more than 40 spacecraft exploring the solar system and interstellar space.

NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is now enclosed inside its Falcon Heavy fairing and nearly ready for launch. Its mission could uncover thousands of exoplanets while helping scientists investigate dark matter, dark energy, and the accelerating expansion of the universe.

NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is ready to hunt thousands of alien worlds. NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is ready to hunt thousands of alien worlds | Science News from research organizations NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is ready to hunt thousands of alien worlds Date: August 26, 2026 Source: NASA Summary: NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is now enclosed inside its Falcon Heavy fairing and nearly ready for launch.

New Next-Gen Dish Adds Muscle to NASA’s Deep Space Network. The new Deep Space Station 23 (DSS-23) is located at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, near Barstow, and is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Share: Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email FULL STORY Left: Teams inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida encapsulate the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope within the payload fairing on Friday, Aug. Credit: NASA/Sydney Rohde (Rocz) NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now one major step closer to liftoff.

21, teams enclosed the observatory inside the protective fairing of its SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA leadership and personnel as well as dignitaries gathered at the complete DSS-23 antenna for a ceremonial ribbon cutting. It’s the latest to be added as part of the Deep Space Network ’s Aperture Enhancement Project, which began in 2009 to upgrade and expand the network by adding six new 34-meter multifrequency beam-waveguide antennas.

These versatile dishes can enhance many missions operating over different radio frequencies. “By expanding the Deep Space Network, we are strengthening the communications foundation NASA needs for the bold missions ahead — from exploring more of the Moon than ever before to peering deeper into the solar system,” said James Kenyon, associate administrator of the Research and Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

“This new antenna will help us deliver on our national goals for space exploration and push beyond the limits of what once seemed impossible.” After completing a testing campaign from May through July to demonstrate its capabilities, the new DSS-23 began operations on Aug.