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    Liftoff of SPHEREx, PUNCH Missions!

    A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 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, lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

    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 …

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    SPHEREx, PUNCH Missions ‘Go’ for Launch

    A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 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, is vertical at Space Launch Complex 4 East from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

    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!

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    SPHEREx, PUNCH Missions ‘Go’ for Launch

    A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 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, is vertical at Space Launch Complex 4 East from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

    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 …

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    Second Stage Fueling Started

    A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 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, is vertical at Space Launch Complex 4 East from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

    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.

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    NASA’s SPHEREx: By the Numbers

    NASA's SPHEREx mission will operate in low Earth orbit, detecting hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies and creating the first all-sky spectroscopic survey in the near-infrared. This artist's concept shows the spacecraft and its distinctive conical photon shields, which protect SPHEREx's telescope from infrared light and heat from the Sun and Earth.

    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 …

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    Second Stage Fueling Started

    A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 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, is vertical at Space Launch Complex 4 East from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

    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.  The Falcon 9 Merlin …

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    Meet the Spacecraft: PUNCH

    Artist's concept of the PUNCH satellites in orbit.

    Launching as a rideshare with NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) is made up of four 140-pound small satellites.

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    Meet the Spacecraft: PUNCH

    Artist's concept of the PUNCH satellites in orbit.

    Launching as a rideshare with NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) is made up of four 140-pound small satellites, each about 1 x 2 x 3 feet in size, which will be synchronized to serve as a …

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    First Stage Fueling Started

    A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 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, is vertical at Space Launch Complex 4 East from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

    Moments ago, mission teams polled “go” to begin fueling the SpaceX Falcon 9 first-stage booster.  We’re now just under 45 minutes from launch, and the rocket is being loaded with RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene). The rocket’s first stage also is being fueled with liquid oxygen, and a few minutes from now, fueling will begin for …

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