NASA's Roman Telescope to Carry 1.35 Million Names to Deep Space

• NASA has installed a memory card containing 1,350,144 names submitted by the public onto the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
• The telescope is scheduled to launch no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT on August 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center.
• The observatory will be stationed at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2), approximately one million miles from Earth.

Project Highlights

• The name list includes submissions from participants worldwide as well as astronauts from the Artemis II and Artemis III missions.
• The card is secured as part of a commemorative plaque on the spacecraft.

Mission Background

• Namesake: The telescope honors Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer and a pioneer in modern space science.
• Objectives: Dr. Roman was a major advocate for space-based observatories capable of observing the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere and ensuring data accessibility for the global scientific community.
• Launch Details: The mission will depart from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.