NASA launches first telescope named in honour of female scientist

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has launched its first telescope named after its first chief astronomer, Nancy Grace Roman, Peoples Gazette reports.

The telescope launched at 7:26 a.m. Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, and is expected to reach a destination about one million miles from Earth. NASA’s science mission director, Nicky Fox, said Roman would be a “discovery machine” for studying black holes, dark energy and exoplanets.

Senior project scientist Julie McEnery said the telescope offers unprecedented views of the universe. NASA said it will transmit 1.4 terabytes of data daily.