NASA SPHEREx & PUNCH Astronomy Satellites: Falcon 9 Launch Preparations

NASA SPHEREx & PUNCH Astronomy Satellites: Falcon 9 Launch Preparations

Technicians and engineers encapsulate 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 in California, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. SPHEREx will use its telescope to provide an all-sky spectral survey, creating a 3D map of the entire sky to help scientists investigate the origins of our universe. PUNCH will study origins of the Sun’s outflow of material, or the solar wind, capturing continuous 3D images of the Sun’s corona and the solar wind’s journey into the solar system. Liftoff aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for NET 10:09 EST (7:09 p.m. PST), Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at Vandenberg.

Learn more about the SPHEREx Mission:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spherex/

Learn more about the PUNCH Mission:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/punch/

Image Credit: BAE Sytems/Benjamin Fry
Image Date: Feb. 27, 2025

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