NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory has achieved its target orbit, positioning the spacecraft to capture the first repeated observations of the ultraviolet glow from Earth’s outer atmosphere, the geocorona. The achievement was confirmed following its third and final orbital maneuver, a 2-minute thruster fire, on Jan. 8. The spacecraft has now entered its intended halo orbit […]
NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory has captured its first images from space, revealing rare views of Earth and the Moon in ultraviolet light. Taken on Nov. 17 — still months before the mission’s science phase begins — these “first light” images confirm the spacecraft is healthy while hinting at the incredible views to come. The initial […]
NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is communicating with mission operators at the Mission Operations Center at the University of California Berkeley following a successful acquisition of signal at 9:33 EDT. This follows a successful signal acquisition of NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) today. The observatory will begin studying the Earth’s exosphere in March 2026. […]
Mission managers successfully received acquisition of signal from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Follow-On Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) spacecraft. The spacecraft is the first NOAA satellite designed specifically for and fully dedicated to continuous, operational space weather observations. The SWFO-L1 satellite will monitor the Sun’s outer atmosphere for large eruptions, called coronal mass […]
The third and final Sun and space weather observatory successfully deployed from the second stage. NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is on a journey to Lagrange point 1. Carruthers mission will study Earth’s exosphere, the outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere. It will be the first mission dedicated to understanding changes in this expansive region we know […]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Follow-On Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) spacecraft is now headed to Lagrange point 1 (L1) following separation from the SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage at 9:01 a.m. EDT. The SWFO-L1 satellite will monitor space weather from L1 and allows for the decommissioning of aging legacy satellites, that are […]
Mission controllers for NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory have received full acquisition of signal from the spacecraft. NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) will help researchers better understand the boundary of the heliosphere, a huge magnetic bubble created by the Sun surrounding and protecting our solar system from harmful radiation across […]
NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory is flying on its own after completing separation from the SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage. IMAP will maintain a steady rotation — four spins per minute — as it begins its journey to Lagrange point 1 (L1), located approximately one million miles from Earth in the direction […]
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will continue to coast for approximately 40 minutes, before its second stage ignites for a brief, one minute burn to place the payloads on their correct trajectory. Shortly before 9 a.m. the IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory will separate from the rocket. The IMAP mission will map the boundaries of […]
