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TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites)

Viewing Posts from July 2025

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    NASA Assessing One of Two Satellites Set to Study Magnetic Reconnection

    An artist's concept showing TRACERS above Earth. TRACERS is twin satellites, both gray and octagonal, with four poles sticking outward horizontally.

    After launch of NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission on July 23, the team successfully achieved telemetry lock and command functions with each of the two satellites. During the commissioning process, the team made routine adjustments to the power subsystem on both vehicles. While the adjustments achieved the desired results on […]

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    NASA’s TRACERS Mission Launches to Study Earth’s Magnetic Shield

    An illustration showing the 2 TRACERS spacecraft. Filling the bottom half of the landscape image is a cloudy Earth. Behind Earth, the bright Sun is peaking out, filling the dark expanse of space with streaks of white light. The two spacecraft orbit above Earth, large hexagonal cylinders with long poles sticking out horizontally in 4 directions.

    NASA’s newest mission, TRACERS, soon will begin studying how Earth’s magnetic shield protects our planet from the effects of space weather. Short for Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites, the twin TRACERS spacecraft lifted off at 11:13 a.m. PDT (2:13 p.m. EDT) Wednesday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 […]

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    NASA’s TRACERS Mission in Orbit 

    Image shows a satellite move away from a silver metallic payload with the Earth in the background

    NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) twin satellites are in orbit after the spacecraft launched at 11:13 a.m. PDT (2:13 p.m. EDT) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Station in California as part of a commercial rideshare mission with several other payloads. […]

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    NASA, Partners Payloads Separate From Falcon 9 Second Stage

    Image shows a silver metallic CubeSat releasing from a silver payload in orbit.

    NASA-funded payloads, PExT (Polylingual Experimental Terminal) technology demonstration, and the REAL (Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss) CubeSat deployed around 55 minutes following launch of NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission.  The first of the twin TRACERS satellites is preparing to deploy in about 40 minutes, followed by the second approximately six minutes […]

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    NASA’s TRACERS Mission Launch Takes Flight 

    Image shows a rocket launch in California

    A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base California at 11:13 a.m. PDT (2:13 p.m. EDT) today.  Also launching on this flight will be three additional NASA-funded payloads: the Athena EPIC (Economical Payload Integration Cost) […]

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    NASA’s TRACERS Mission Launch Attempt Today

    Image shows a SpaceX rocket at the launch pad with NASA payloads in California

    A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission onboard has a second opportunity to launch the pair of satellites that will study space weather for the agency. The 57-minute launch window opens at 2:13 p.m. EDT (11:13 a.m. PDT) for today’s mission from Space Launch Complex 4 […]

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    NASA’s TRACERS Mission Scrubbed, July 23 Next Attempt

    Image shows SpaceX rocket at the launch pad on a sunny day in California

    NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than 2:13 p.m. EDT, (11:13 a.m. PDT) Wednesday, July 23, for launch of the agency’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission scrubbed on July 22 due to Federal Aviation Administration […]

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    Key Milestones for Upcoming NASA’s TRACERS Mission

    Image shows a SpaceX rocket at the launch pad

    NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission is targeting 2:13 p.m. EDT (11:13 a.m. PDT) today for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. There is a 57-minute launch window for this mission.  The TRACERS mission is a pair of […]

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    NASA Mission Ready to Study Space Weather Impacts on Earth 

    In this artist's concept, the two TRACERS spacecraft are orbiting above Earth. Earth fills most of the image, with speckles of a starry sky visible above the planet. The spacecraft are octagonal with long antennae sticking out on four sides, and shorter antennae sticking out on two sides.

    NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission is targeting to lift off today at 2:13 p.m. EDT (11:13 a.m. PDT) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. There is a 57-minute launch window for this mission.  The TRACERS mission will study magnetic […]

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    NASA Satellites Encapsulated for TRACERS Launch 

    Image shows a group of people in white bunny suits posing in front of a spacecraft fairing with two black satellites on top a shiny metallic box

    Final prelaunch operations are underway for NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission. Technicians encapsulated the twin satellites within a payload fairing on Friday, July 18, inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.  The fairing will protect the mission during launch through the atmosphere and before […]

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