NASA Launches Two Space Missions on Single Rocket
Launch of SPHEREx and PUNCH, March 12, 2025. X/ @SpaceX
March 12, 2025 Hour: 8:23 am
SPHEREx and PUNCH were launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
On Tuesday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SpaceX launched two new missions on a single rocket to collect data from galaxies and the sun.
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The two missions, namely, SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), and PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere), were launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 8:10 p.m. Pacific Time. After liftoff, NASA confirmed all instruments had been successfully deployed.
SPHEREx will survey the sky in optical and infrared light, gathering data on more than 450 million galaxies as well as 100 million stars in our galaxy. Every six months, SPHEREx will scan the entire sky to create a map in 96 color bands.
The PUNCH mission will use four suitcase-sized satellites to observe the sun and its environment. Located in low Earth orbit, the satellites will work together to make 3D observations, studying how the sun’s corona turns into solar wind.
Wednesday’s launch broke SpaceX’s slump in off-orbit operations. Previously, on March 7, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) required SpaceX to investigate what caused the Starship rocket explosion, which occurred during its launch the day before.
SpaceX was conducting a new test flight, following the explosion on its seventh flight in January. Shortly after Starship separated from the Super Heavy that propels it into space, the company lost contact with it.
In January, the explosion caused debris to scatter across the Caribbean, and the remains of the Starship surprised drivers and passersby in Florida who didn’t understand what was happening. Four airports were closed in the state.
“An accident investigation is designed to improve public safety, determine the cause of the event, and identify corrective actions to prevent it from happening again,” the FAA stated.
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: Xinhua – NASA
