Roman Space Telescope Confirmed for August 2026 Launch With Hubble-Sized Mirror and Much Wider View

NASA has locked in August 30, 2026 for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Roman's 2.4-meter mirror matches Hubble's size but captures a view 100 times wider—about 0.28 square degrees per exposure instead of Hubble's 0.003. That breadth trades depth for speed, letting astronomers map how dark energy shapes the universe and spot thousands of distant, cold exoplanets through gravitational lensing.