From spy satellite to space telescope: The unlikely origins of NASA's Roman Space Telescope

An illustration of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in deep space. It looks like a dark metal cylinder with a dark purple background of space.

NASA took the guts out of old spy satellites to build the groundbreaking Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope – but how? And why?

Years of hard work and anticipation are culminating as we sit on the verge of NASA's launch of its next-generation space telescope. Set to lift off this upcoming Sunday (Aug. 30) aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the Roman Space Telescope will push astronomy into the future, exploring the mysteries of dark energy, studying far-off worlds and expanding our understanding of the universe around us. But to get to this point, NASA used some … unexpected technology.