NASA’s newest space telescope launches on a quest to explore the hidden universe

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the space observatory Roman Telescope lifts off from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

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This photo provided by NASA shows Astronomer Nancy Grace Roman. (NASA via AP)

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This photo provided by NASA shows technicians connecting the inner and outer segments of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, Nov. 25, 2025, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. (Jolearra Tshiteya/NASA via AP)

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This image provided by NASA shows a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the space observatory Roman Telescope launching at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s newest crown jewel blasted off Sunday to hunt for planets around other stars, explore secret dark energy and survey the cosmos like never before.

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SpaceX launched the $4.3 billion Roman Space Telescope shortly after daybreak aboard a triple-the-firepower Falcon Heavy rocket. Roman blazed toward an observation point 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) away that’s home to the Webb Space Telescope, one of NASA’s other big-ticket eyes in the sky.

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The bus-sized telescope — named after the…

Original source: https://apnews.com/business