Roman Space Telescope Encapsulation

Teams inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope for encapsulation within its payload fairing on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, ahead of mating to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Encapsulation shields the spacecraft during rollout, ascent, and the early phases of flight. Roman will investigate dark energy and dark matter, conduct a statistical census of planetary systems, and enable a broad range of additional astrophysics research. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy is targeted for no earlier than Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026.

Teams inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope for encapsulation within its payload fairing on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, ahead of mating to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Encapsulation shields the spacecraft during rollout, ascent, and the early phases of flight. Roman will investigate dark energy and dark matter, conduct a statistical census of planetary systems, and enable a broad range of additional astrophysics research. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy is targeted for no earlier than Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026.

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