NASA UNVEILS NANCY GRACE ROMAN SPACE TELESCOPE, Apr 21, 2026, Greenbelt, MD, 4:15 pm ET

Update, April 21, 3:55 pm ET:  NASA’s YouTube livestream says it will begin at 4:15 pm ET instead of 4:00 pm ET.

Original Entry: NASA will unveil the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD on April 21, 2026. The telescope is being built there.

Originally called the Wide-Field Infrared Space Telescope or WFIRST, it was later named in honor of NASA’s first chief astronomer, Nancy Grace Roman.  The launch date has not been announced yet, but is expected later in 2026.  NASA proudly points out that it is under budget and ahead of schedule.

A news conference will take place at 4:00 pm ET that will air on NASA’s YouTube channel.

Participants are:

• NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
• Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
• Jamie Dunn, Roman telescope project manager, NASA Goddard
• Julie McEnery, Roman telescope senior project scientist, NASA Goddard