<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) —</strong> NASA’s newest telescope launched on Sunday to search for planets around other stars, investigate dark energy, and survey the universe.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">SpaceX launched the $4.3 billion Roman Space Telescope shortly after daybreak aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The telescope is headed to an observation point 1 million miles away, where it will work alongside the Webb Space Telescope.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The bus-sized telescope, named after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer, will take over three months to reach its destination. Once there, it will observe parts of the universe from space with unprecedented speed.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“It’s going to find thousands of supernovae, tens of thousands of planets, billions of galaxies and tens of billions of stars,” said NASA science mission director Nicky Fox. “It’s going to be able to do things that we’ve never been able to do before with its massive field of view.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After the launch, the rocket’s two reusable side boosters landed back at Cape Canaveral, producing sonic booms. The telescope successfully separated from the rocket’s upper stage, prompting applause from ground controllers.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Roman’s field of view is over 100 times wider than that of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, which has been operational for 36 years. The Webb Space Telescope, which joined the effort several years ago, has a narrower focus but can zoom in on ancient objects.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Roman will collaborate with the European Space Agency’s Euclid spacecraft and the National Science Foundation’s Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile to uncover significant cosmic secrets.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The telescope is expected to help astronomers learn more about dark matter and dark energy, which constitute most of the universe yet remain largely hidden. Roman’s catalog of galaxies will assist scientists in understanding the universe's expansion rate.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Roman is designed for speed, with a month of observations taking Hubble a century to complete. It will provide a detailed look into the Milky Way’s center.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In addition to a wide-field infrared camera, Roman features a coronagraph to block starlight, allowing it to directly image faint planets orbiting stars.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The telescope is designed to be refueled, potentially extending its operational life if a robotic tanker becomes available.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Roman launched nearly a year ahead of schedule and within budget, making it NASA’s first space telescope named after a woman.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Retired NASA scientist Ed Weiler noted that the honor is long overdue, referring to Roman as the “Mother of Hubble.” She advocated for space telescopes after joining NASA in 1959 and passed away in 2018 at age 93.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“This is very, very fitting. I think Nancy would be very proud” that the telescope will address major questions about the universe, Weiler said.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Hubble launched in 1990 with a flawed mirror that required repairs by astronauts. Roman’s primary mirror is nearly 8 feet in diameter and is surplus from spy satellites, with a second mirror still in storage.</p>