NBW News SpaceX Awarded $255M Contract by NASA to Launch the Next Space Telescope

SpaceX Awarded $255M Contract by NASA to Launch the Next Space Telescope

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – FEBRUARY 07: Clouds are seen behind the NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center February 7, 2008 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Bad weather is threatening today?s scheduled 2:34 pm EST launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

NASA awarded Elon Musk’s SpaceX with a contract to provide launch services for the next space telescope mission. The cost for the mission’s launch is expected to be around $255 million, including launch services and extra related charges.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is 2.4 meters in diameter, is slated to launch in October 2026. Under the contract, SpaceX will launch the telescope on a Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.