PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere)

NASA and SpaceX set a new launch date of no earlier than Monday, March 10 for the launch of the agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions on a Falcon 9 rocket.

NASA and SpaceX are standing down for tonight’s launch of the agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions. The additional time will allow teams to continue rocket checkouts ahead of liftoff.

A team of launch managers for 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 authorized approval to proceed to launch countdown at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Saturday, March 8, for the launch of the agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions. The additional time will allow SpaceX to complete rocket preparations ahead of liftoff.

NASA will not hold the SPHEREx and PUNCH prelaunch news conference on Thursday, March 6. The agency will update with more information shortly.

NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Friday, March 7, for the launch of the agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions due to the availability of a launch opportunity on the Western range.

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.

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 Sunday, March 2, for the launch of the agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions.