Trump Congratulates NASA Following Launch of Roman Space Telescope

<p>President Donald Trump made an unexpected call during a NASA press conference on Sunday, congratulating the agency after the successful launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on a nearly 1 million-mile journey into space.</p><p>The call occurred shortly after the telescope launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.</p><p>NASA officials reported that the telescope successfully separated from the rocket and began sending telemetry as it progressed toward its destination in space.</p><p>NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman walked out of the press conference holding his cell phone, stating, "The president is excited about Roman." He later returned with Trump on speakerphone, where the president thanked and congratulated the team.</p><p>Trump joked, "I just called Jared to find out, is there anything negative that I should know about, like, it will never be able to return? Little things like that."</p><p>He added, "No, it's looking great. It couldn't be better. And it was another great successful launch. Jared is doing a fantastic job. You are doing a fantastic job, and I'm supplying you [with] all that money!"</p><p>Trump also reflected on the state of NASA facilities when he first took office, praising the agency's progress since then.</p><p>He remarked, "And now again, like we are with the country itself, we're the hottest there is. We're the hottest in space, we have the hottest country anywhere in the world. So let's keep it all going. You're a big part of it. Let's keep it all going."</p><p>The press conference followed the successful launch of the Roman Space Telescope, which Isaacman predicted would become a household name like the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.</p><p>Isaacman stated, "Over the course of the next several months, Roman will travel nearly 1 million miles away from Earth to Lagrange point L2 and begin transmitting imagery and data back home that will contribute to world-changing science."</p>