Roman Space Telescope Encapsulation

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is photographed after encapsulation inside its payload fairing in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Aug. 24, 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.