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Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope blog is NASA's hub for the mission's launch updates, where all are invited for behind-the-scenes looks on Roman's road to launch and beyond. This flagship mission’s vast, deep surveys will help astronomers explore dark matter, dark energy, exoplanets, and almost anything from our own solar system to galaxies at the edge of the observable universe. Follow along to join in on the excitement!

NASA Fuels Roman Space Telescope for Late August Launch

A group of technicians in full clean room garments, including blue coveralls, gloves, masks, and hair coverings, stand and kneel around a large spacecraft wrapped in protective silver material inside a high bay clean room. at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Monday, July 20, 2026. The spacecraft towers above them, surrounded by equipment, worktables, and tall white panels. The setting is bright and sterile, with tools and carts positioned around the team as they pose together for the photo.
Members of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope propellant, safety, and quality assurance team pose for a photo on Monday July 20, 2026, prior to technicians loading propellant into the observatory.
NASA/Sydney Rohde (Rocz)

Technicians completed fueling NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, bringing it an important step closer to launch. On July 25, the team completed operations that carefully loaded 290 gallons of hydrazine fuel into the observatory at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

After launch and separation from the rocket, Roman will use this onboard propellant to perform maneuvers as it travels to Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, or L2, located about one million miles from Earth. There, about four times the distance to the Moon, it will have an ideal home for astronomy.

Roman will use its propellant to power two types of thrusters that help it stay in its planned orbit around L2 and ensure the solar array panels face the Sun, which is the observatory’s main source of power throughout the mission. Roman has a five-year primary mission, and potentially enough fuel to support an additional five years for an extended mission. The Roman team recently cleaned and checked out the six solar array panels to prepare them for launch.

Researchers are eager to study thousands of exoplanets Roman will discover, to learn how closely they resemble Earth. They also will use Roman to study the mystery of dark energy and why it’s causing the universe to expand faster over time.  

Now that fueling is complete, technicians soon will attach Roman to a device that secures to the rocket’s top stage. After that, Roman will be encapsulated within the rocket’s protective shell, known as a payload fairing. The payload fairing protects the spacecraft from aerodynamic forces and heat during ascent.

Launching nine months ahead of schedule, NASA and SpaceX are targeting liftoff for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.

To learn more about Roman, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/roman

A man is seen wearing a white protective suit with the number 0175 and a microphone inside this suit.
Billy Keim, a senior integration technician for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope wears a Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble (SCAPE) suit as he prepares to perform propellant loading operations inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Friday, July 24, 2026.
NASA/Sydney Rohde (Rocz)