Tag: PUNCH
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NASA’s PUNCH Nails Solar Storm Arrival to Within 30 Minutes in Proof-of-Concept Test
Solar storms are caused by coronal mass ejections, huge explosions of material off the Sun. Forecasting when these ejections reach Earth is central to mitigating their impacts on power grids, satellites, and astronauts. Until recently, coronal mass ejections could not be tracked continuously for much of their journey, and could only be observed as they…
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SPHEREx starts science observations while PUNCH commissioning continues
NASA’s latest space telescope has taken the first science observations of its two-year mission to study the universe in dozens of colors. The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) telescope maps the entire sky in 102 infrared wavelengths — or colors — to study galaxy formation, cosmic…
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NASA, SpaceX launch SPHEREx and PUNCH missions following spacecraft-driven scrub
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base to begin NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions on March 11, 2025. Image: SpaceX Update March 12, 1:52 a.m. ET: NASA confirms acquisition of signal. NASA launched its first ride share flight in support of the Science Mission Directorate with two missions flying on…
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NASA, SpaceX launch SPHEREx observatory and PUNCH heliophysics mission from California
SpaceX and NASA successfully launched the agency’s newest space telescope and solar research mission Tuesday evening. A Falcon 9 lifted off from California with the SPHEREx near-infrared observatory, with the PUNCH heliophysics mission flying as a rideshare. During its mission, SPHEREx will complete surveys of the entire sky in optical and near-infrared light, observing over…
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Launch Roundup: Starship and Ariane 6 launch after scrubs
SpaceX launches Starship’s eighth flight test, Arianespace’s Ariane 6 launches from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, and China sends another Chang Zheng 3B/E to space. Ariane 6 kicks off the week by launching high-resolution reconnaissance satellites for the French Space Agency, followed by Starship’s eighth flight test. Then, Chang Zheng 3B/E takes another…
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Launch Roundup: Starship, Ariane 6 and telescope missions delayed, lunar lander flies
Several significant missions were scheduled for this week, including the third lunar lander to launch in just over a month. The Intuitive Machines-2 (IM-2) mission will explore and analyze the Moon’s subsurface, testing new technologies and paving the way for future lunar missions. NASA is also set to launch its SPHEREx observatory, which will map…
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Tethers Unlimited to provide hardware for NASA’s PUNCH sun-watching mission
Four microsatellites will study how the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, imparts energy and mass to the solar wind during NASA’s PUNCH mission. (SwRI Illustration) Bothell, Wash.-based Tethers Unlimited says it will provide key communications and propulsion capabilities to Southwest Research Institute in support of a NASA mission to study how the sun’s corona whips…
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NASA selects missions to observe the sun and its impact on Earth
An eruption from the sun on April 16, 2012, was captured here by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Credit: NASA NASA has selected two satellite missions for launch on the same rocket in 2022 to investigate the origins of the solar wind and explore the interaction between magnetic fields around Earth with those from the sun.…