Technicians and engineers completed encapsulation of NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) observatory and PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) satellites within a protective payload fairing inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on Sunday, March 2. The …
Technicians and engineers completed encapsulation of NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) observatory and PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) satellites within a protective payload fairing inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Thursday, March 6, for the launch of the agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions. The additional time will allow teams to complete vehicle processing and prelaunch checkouts. The launch window opens at 10:09 p.m. EST (7:09 p.m. PST) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg …
NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Thursday, March 6, for the launch of the agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions.
NASA will not hold the SPHEREx and PUNCH prelaunch news conference on Monday, March 3. The agency will share more information as soon as possible.
NASA will not hold the SPHEREx and PUNCH prelaunch news conference on Monday, March 3. The agency will share more information as soon as possible.
NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Tuesday, March 4, for the launch of the agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions. The teams need additional time to evaluate launch vehicle hardware data. The launch window opens at 10:09 p.m. EST (7:09 p.m. PST) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force …
Following the successful deployment of NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 26, mission operators at Caltech’s IPAC in Pasadena, California, established communications with the small satellite at 5:13 p.m. PST, as expected. The team subsequently received engineering data, or telemetry, indicating intermittent power system issues. They lost communication with the …
Mission operators at Caltech’s IPAC in Pasadena, California, have received an initial signal from NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer. This indicates that the small spacecraft has powered up. As planned, the signal was acquired by Deep Space Station 36, one of the radio frequency antennas at NASA’s Deep Space Network Canberra complex in Australia. The operations team …
The second stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 completed its Earth departure burn, and NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft has separated from it and is flying independently. The spacecraft is now expected to carry out a series of automated processes, including powering itself up, deploying its solar arrays, and orienting them toward the Sun. Starting about …