With Canadians quietly lending a hand, a U.S. spy satellite-turned-telescope takes flight

With Canadians quietly lending a hand, a U.S. spy satellite-turned-telescope takes flight IVAN SEMENIUK SCIENCE REPORTER PUBLISHED 2 HOURS AGO UPDATED 1 HOUR AGO Open this photo in gallery: NASA technicians connect the inner and outer segments of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in November, 2025 JOLEARRA TSHITEYA/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Andrea Crespi was still a middle school student in Italy when three American astronomers won the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics for discovering that the expansion of universe is speeding up. Back then, the mystery of that acceleration and the curious phenomenon called dark energy that powers it seemed like an unsolvable problem. Fast-forward 15 years and Mr. Crespi, now a graduate student at Ontario’s University of Waterloo, may be among those with the best shot yet at cracking the riddle of dark energy. That exciting possibility moved a step closer to reality on Sunday morning with the successful launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Astronaut Jeremy Hansen opens Canadian National Exhibition Named after NASA’s first chief astronomer, who helped usher in the era of astronomy in space, the telescope is now poised to explore some of the deepest questions that researchers have about the universe, with dark energy topping the list. “It feels like an opportunity,” said Mr. Crespi about the launch. “Like we’re at the turning point of the story.” Despite concerns that weather would postpone the early morning liftoff, conditions proved favourable enough for a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to send the telescope roaring on its way at 7:26 a.m. ET. The bus-sized observatory is now on a 100-day journey to L2, a point in space about 1.5 million kilometres away, where gravitational forces are balanced in a way that allows objects located there to easily maintain their position relative to Earth. Open this photo in gallery: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off carrying NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla on Sunday. JOE SKIPPER/REUTERS After a period of testing, the Roman telescope is expected to begin its epic survey of the universe in the coming months. Astronomers in the U.S. and around the world are gearing up for the trove of data that will pour from the newly-launched instrument and deliver discoveries across a range of…