SpaceX Launches NASA's Science Projects From Vandenberg
Tuesday March 11, 2025
(Photos courtesy of SpaceX and NASA from top to bottom show launch at Vandenberg and the Falcon 9's ascent into space, then the deployment of one of the four PUNCH satellites and finally the deployment of the SPHEREx observatory)
Updated--SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch of NASA’s SPHEREx Observatory and the PUNCH project's four satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in northwestern Santa Barbara County finally got off the ground Tuesday night.
Liftoff was at 8:10 p.m. PDT.
Following stage separation, the first stage landed back at Vandenberg Space Force Base as the second stage went on to complete deployment.
During its two-year mission, the SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) Observatory will collect data on more than 450 million galaxies and more than 100 million stars to improve our understanding of how the universe evolved while also searching for water and oxygen molecules.
The PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) four satellites will observe the Sun and its environment to help scientists better understand the effect of solar winds on our solar system.