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The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage has successfully landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Landing Zone 4 in California.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage has successfully landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Landing Zone 4 in California. Meanwhile, the engine in the Falcon 9’s second stage has cut off.  The next milestone will be when the SPHEREx observatory separates from the rocket’s second stage in about 30 minutes.   

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s nine Merlin engines have finished their burn, and the first stage has separated from the rocket.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s nine Merlin engines have finished their burn, and the first stage has separated from the rocket. As the second stage continues carrying SPHEREx and PUNCH to orbit, the rocket’s first stage will attempt a controlled landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Landing Zone 4. 

Ignition, and liftoff! At 11:10 p.m. EDT (8:10 p.m. PDT), SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Space Launch Complex 4 East, carrying NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) and PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) missions.

Ignition, and liftoff! At 11:10 p.m. EDT (8:10 p.m. PDT), SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Space Launch Complex 4 East, carrying NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) and PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) missions.  Stay here on …

NASA Launch Manager Dr. Denton Gibson has just given the final “go” for launch 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!

NASA Launch Manager Dr. Denton Gibson has just given the final “go” for launch 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! The spacecraft is on internal power and configured for launch. In the next few …

SpaceX confirms that fueling for the Falcon 9’s second stage carrying NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) and PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) missions is underway at Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

With launch just under 10 minutes away, let’s take a closer look at some important numbers for NASA’s newest space observatory, SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), which will help answer big questions about the early universe, the history of galaxies, and the life-sustaining molecules in planet-forming …