NASA launches Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Kennedy Space Center

ABC News reported that NASA launched the uncrewed Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on Sunday at 7:26 a.m. Eastern Time. The launch took place from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. [1][2]

The space telescope is named after Nancy Grace Roman, who died in 2018. According to ABC News, Roman earned a doctorate in astronomy at the University of Chicago in 1949 and became NASA's chief of astronomy and relativity by 1960. She was the first chief astronomer at the agency. [1]

ABC News reported that Roman was nicknamed the Mother of Hubble for her work in making NASA's first major space-based telescope a reality. A NASA biography notes that despite her leadership of the agency's astronomy programs, she faced systemic barriers as a female scientist. [1]