To The Moon

President Donald Trump praised NASA's successful launch of its space telescope designed to investigate the dark universe, calling it a triumph for American achievement.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump thanked NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, whom he nominated last year, and the agency's "great patriots" for their stellar execution. He described the launch as part of a "Golden Age" for the country.

Early Sunday morning at 7:26 a.m. ET, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

According to a NASA press release, the observatory blends a vast field of view with the ability to see infrared light at sharp resolution. This unique combination will allow astronomers to survey enormous regions of the sky while simultaneously looking back deep into cosmic history.

The mission is expected to further our understanding of fundamental mysteries, including dark matter, dark energy, and the atmospheres of exoplanets beyond our solar system.

Isaacman stated that the Roman telescope's successful deployment represents a perfect model for future operations at the space agency. He highlighted in the release that the project aligns with its scheduled timeline and remains within its designated budget, crediting over a decade of commitment from NASA personnel and industry collaborators.

Isaacman remarked that the telescope will deliver a new map of the universe, expand the frontiers of discovery, and demonstrate the possibilities when bold ambition meets precise execution in America's space program.

Ground controllers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland began receiving data from the telescope seven minutes after liftoff. The Falcon Heavy's second stage separated from the observatory 31 minutes into the flight. After separation, the rocket's side boosters safely returned to the Florida launch site for future refurbishment and reuse.

The agency will now spend three months commissioning the telescope. The Roman observatory's final operational position is at the second Lagrange point, located about one million miles from Earth.

NASA anticipates that the first images from the telescope will be unveiled in early 2027.

In addition to the launch, Trump visited NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday. During his visit, he presented the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the Artemis II crew, including astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. These four crew members received the honor a month after completing their voyage around the Moon.

The president signed an executive order last December, directing NASA to establish the initial elements of a lunar base under the Artemis program by 2030.

However, legislative coordination remains incomplete as Republican members of the House and Senate struggle to reach an agreement on a bill that would allocate funding to the space agency. Still, a person familiar with the House Science Committee reports that both chambers are seeking to pass the legislation before the end of the year.