NASA will launch the $4.3 bln Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on Sunday aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, scheduled for 7:26 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The 5–10 year mission will be placed on a trajectory to an orbit about 1 million miles from Earth and could begin sky surveys as early as December. The telescope is designed to map how dark matter and dark energy affect distant stars and galaxies and to probe cosmic expansion.

Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned Ukraine’s ambassador, a ministry source said on Aug 29, protesting recent attacks on Turkish merchant vessels near Tuapse in the Black Sea and warning of the need to protect personnel, property, navigation and the marine environment. On Aug 26 a vessel operated by a Turkish company was attacked near Tuapse; the following day a Turkish ship sent to tow that vessel was also targeted. On Aug 22 two Turkish merchant ships were attacked in the Black Sea, killing one crew member and injuring eight.

Wall Street Journal reports the US will take a 35% stake in Venezuelan tycoon Betancourt’s oil project.