{"id":23706,"date":"2025-09-23T17:47:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T09:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-spacex-launch-imap-and-rideshare-payloads-to-study-space-weather-at-l1\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T12:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T04:49:13","slug":"nasa-spacex-launch-imap-and-rideshare-payloads-to-study-space-weather-at-l1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-spacex-launch-imap-and-rideshare-payloads-to-study-space-weather-at-l1\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA, SpaceX launch IMAP and rideshare payloads to study space weather at L1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NASA and SpaceX successfully launched the agency\u2019s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) from Florida on Wednesday morning. Joining IMAP on its way to Lagrange Point 1 are two additional rideshare payloads: NOAA\u2019s Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) and the joint NASA\/University of Illinois Carruthers Geocorona Observatory.<\/p>\n<p>Liftoff took place on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 7:30 AM EDT (11:30 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Weather was 85% favorable for launch during an instantaneous launch window, with the primary concern being the cumulus cloud rule.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Falcon booster B1096 supported this mission, flying for the second time after previously launching the KF-01 mission for Amazon\u2019s Kuiper internet constellation in July.<\/p>\n<p>After flying due east out of the Cape, B1096 reentered Earth\u2019s atmosphere, performed an entry burn to slow its descent, and finally landed safely atop one of SpaceX\u2019s east coast droneships, <em>Just Read the Instructions<\/em>, which was stationed downrange in the Atlantic.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"SpaceX Launches Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZJnuAv4XB1o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Following stage separation, the second stage, IMAP, and the rideshare payloads continued flying into an interplanetary transfer orbit.<\/p>\n<p>After being successfully deployed from the second stage, IMAP, SWFO-L1, and the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory are now flying to the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1), which is located between the Sun and our planet, approximately 1.5 million km away from Earth.<\/p>\n<p>NASA mission updates<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>Space Shuttle<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>SpaceX launch tickets<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p>This launch marked the 121st Falcon 9 mission of 2025, and the 539th overall. Furthermore, this launch was the 220th orbital launch attempt worldwide in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>IMAP<\/p>\n<p>Selected by NASA for development by a team from Princeton University in 2018, IMAP will serve as the fifth mission under NASA\u2019s Solar Terrestrial Probes program. Using a suite of 10 science instruments, IMAP will map and investigate the heliosphere, the vast bubble created by the Sun\u2019s wind that completely encloses our solar system.<\/p>\n<p>IMAP is expected to answer four critical questions that have plagued heliophysics for decades: what are the properties of the local interstellar medium; how do magnetic fields interact from the Sun through the local interstellar medium; how do the solar wind and interstellar medium interact through the boundaries of our heliosphere; and how are particles accelerated to high energies throughout the solar system?<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-109436\" class=\"wp-image-109436 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_2053-scaled-e1758666046618.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_2053-scaled-e1758666046618.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_2053-scaled-e1758666046618-350x174.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_2053-scaled-e1758666046618-630x313.jpeg 630w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_2053-scaled-e1758666046618-768x381.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_2053-scaled-e1758666046618-1920x953.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_2053-scaled-e1758666046618-1170x580.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-109436\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist\u2019s impression of the IMAP spacecraft in orbit. (Credit: NASA\/Princeton University\/Patrick McPike)<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, IMAP is expected to accomplish four main science goals during its three to five-year mission at L1. First, IMAP will improve our understanding of the composition and properties of the local interstellar medium.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"widget-title penci-border-arrow\">See Also<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>IMAP Updates<\/li>\n<li>Space Science coverage<\/li>\n<li>NSF Store<\/li>\n<li>Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Next, the mission will advance scientists\u2019 understanding of the temporal and spatial evolution of the region where solar wind and the interstellar medium interact. Third, IMAP will identify and advance the understanding of processes derived from interactions between the Sun\u2019s magnetic field and the local interstellar medium. Lastly, IMAP will increase our understanding of particle acceleration processes around the Sun and within the heliosphere.<\/p>\n<p>IMAP is relatively small, massing 900 kg and measuring just 2.4 m in diameter and 0.9 m in height. Despite this small size, IMAP\u2019s engineers and scientists implemented 10 scientific instruments on the spacecraft, all of which enable IMAP to view our solar system across different wavelengths and energies.<\/p>\n<p>Three imaging instruments are featured on IMAP. The IMAP-Lo imager is a single-pixel neutral atom imager that will measure and map low-energy, energetic neutral atoms (ENA) created where solar wind and the interstellar medium meet. IMAP-Hi features two single-pixel high-energy imagers that will measure and map medium-energy ENAs located near the edge of the heliosphere. The last of the imagers is IMAP-Ultra, which will map and measure the highest-energy ENAs near the edge of the heliosphere.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-109497\" class=\"size-full wp-image-109497\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sep-Shock_Firing_1-1204-Enhanced-NR_print.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sep-Shock_Firing_1-1204-Enhanced-NR_print.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sep-Shock_Firing_1-1204-Enhanced-NR_print-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sep-Shock_Firing_1-1204-Enhanced-NR_print-525x350.jpg 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sep-Shock_Firing_1-1204-Enhanced-NR_print-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sep-Shock_Firing_1-1204-Enhanced-NR_print-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sep-Shock_Firing_1-1204-Enhanced-NR_print-263x175.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-109497\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IMAP during vibration testing ahead of launch. (Credit: NASA\/Johns Hopkins APL\/Princeton\/Ed Whitman)<\/p>\n<p>Next is IMAP\u2019s magnetometer (MAG), which utilizes two identical triaxial fluxgate magnetometers mounted on a 2.5 m boom arm to measure the interplanetary magnetic field generated by the Sun. The Solar Wind and Pickup Ions (SWAPI) instrument will measure ions within solar wind and particles that enter the solar system from beyond the heliosphere.<\/p>\n<p>The High-Energy Ion Telescope (HIT) will utilize silicon solid-state detectors to investigate high-energy ions emitted from the solar wind and deep space. The Global Solar Wind Structure (GLOWS) instrument, a non-imaging single-pixel photometer, will study the characteristics and evolution of an ultraviolet glow produced by solar wind as it traverses the solar system.<\/p>\n<p>The Solar Wind Electron (SWE) instrument will identify and measure electrons embedded within solar wind and their distributions within the wind. The Compact Dual Ion Composition Experiment (CoDICE) utilizes two electrostatic analyzers to measure the mass and charge of ions emitted from solar wind and interstellar space.<\/p>\n<p>The 10th and final IMAP instrument is the Interstellar Dust Experiment (IDEX), which is a high-resolution dust analyzer that will examine the characteristics of interplanetary and interstellar dust particles within the solar system. These characteristics include the elemental compositions, velocities, and mass distributions of the dust particles.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Mapping the Boundaries of Our Home in Space with NASA\u2019s IMAP Mission\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gEOraINOI5c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid1\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>IMAP is powered by solar panels and will communicate with Earth via NASA\u2019s Deep Space Network, which will relay data to IMAP\u2019s Mission Operation Center (MOC) at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland. After deployment from Falcon 9, IMAP will travel through interplanetary space for 108 days before arriving at L1. IMAP\u2019s unique position at L1 will allow it to provide scientists with up to 30 minutes of \u201cwarning\u201d before a solar storm impacts Earth.<\/p>\n<p>APL provides project management during the mission, with Dr. David McComas of Princeton University serving as IMAP\u2019s principal investigator.<\/p>\n<p>SWFO-L1<\/p>\n<p>One of the rideshare payloads joining IMAP on its journey to L1 is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s (NOAA) SWFO-L1 spacecraft. Much like IMAP, SWFO-L1 will heavily study the Sun and its activity, with SWFO-L1\u2019s nonstop data stream providing scientists with ample warning time ahead of large-scale solar storms that may damage Earth and space-based infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>SWFO-L1 will utilize a compact coronagraph to monitor the Sun\u2019s activity and inform solar wind measurements. The observatory is the first satellite to be dedicated to continuous, operational space weather observations. After reaching L1, the spacecraft will be renamed to Space Weather Observations at L1 to Advance Readiness 1 (SOLAR-1), with the SOLAR-2 observatory to arrive at L1 in the coming years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-109493\" class=\"size-full wp-image-109493\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SWFO-L1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1066\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SWFO-L1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SWFO-L1-350x311.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SWFO-L1-394x350.jpg 394w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SWFO-L1-768x682.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SWFO-L1-1170x1039.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-109493\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist\u2019s impression of SWFO-L1. (Credit: NOAA)<\/p>\n<p>SWFO-L1 features four instruments to facilitate its continuous observations of the Sun. The first is the Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS), which features two identical electrostatic analyzers that will measure the velocity, density, and temperature of ions in solar wind. Next is the SupraThermal Ion Sensor (STIS), a solid-state spectrometer that will measure suprathermal ions and electrons across various energy levels.<\/p>\n<p>The magnetometer (MAG) instrument, much like IMAP\u2019s MAG, will use two magnetometers to measure the magnetic field generated by solar wind. The last of the four instruments is the Compact Coronagraph (CCOR), which will measure the density structure of the Sun\u2019s outer atmosphere, the corona.<\/p>\n<p>NOAA will operate SWFO-L1 once it arrives at L1, which is expected to occur several months after launch.<\/p>\n<p>Carruthers Geocorona Observatory<\/p>\n<p>The third and final payload launching on Wednesday\u2019s mission is the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, which was jointly developed by NASA and the University of Illinois. As its name suggests, the observatory will investigate the geocorona \u2014 the luminous portion of Earth\u2019s exosphere, or its outermost atmospheric layer. Little is known about Earth\u2019s geocorona, and Carruthers will be the first mission fully dedicated to studying it.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-109494\" class=\"size-full wp-image-109494\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Carruthers-Beauty-Pass.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1617\" height=\"682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Carruthers-Beauty-Pass.png 1617w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Carruthers-Beauty-Pass-350x148.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Carruthers-Beauty-Pass-630x266.png 630w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Carruthers-Beauty-Pass-768x324.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Carruthers-Beauty-Pass-1170x493.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1617px) 100vw, 1617px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-109494\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist\u2019s impression of the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory observing Earth. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>The geocorona is highly expansive, spanning from approximately 15 to around 100 Earth radii. For context, one Earth radius is approximately 6,357 km, with the Moon orbiting around 60 Earth radii from Earth.<\/p>\n<p>The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory has two primary science goals and objectives: to map the geocorona\u2019s response to space weather events, such as coronal mass ejections, and to identify the sources of the geocorona. When charged particles emitted by the Sun travel to Earth, the first atmospheric layer they encounter is the exosphere, which subsequently disturbs the geocorona. Understanding how the geocorona changes in response to interactions with charged particles will inform scientists about how Earth\u2019s overall atmosphere reacts to space weather events, as well as what may be causing the geocorona to form.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"NASA Mission to Study Giant \u2018Halo\u2019 Surrounding Earth\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jpuTizjSTgU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid2\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The observatory will feature two ultraviolet cameras: a wide-field imager (WFI) and a narrow-field imager (NFI), providing a range of observation options for scientists using the observatory. Carruthers will also feature COSSMo, a student-developed instrument that will measure the brightness of the Sun in ultraviolet and X-rays. With all components assembled, the observatory masses around 241 kg and is approximately the size of a loveseat sofa.<\/p>\n<p>NASA will operate the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory after its launch on a Falcon 9. The observatory\u2019s primary mission is expected to last two years.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Lead image: Falcon 9 launching the NASA IMAP mission on Sept. 24, 2025. Credit: Max Evans for NSF)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA and SpaceX successfully launched the agency\u2019s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) from Florida on Wednesday morning. Joining IMAP on its way to Lagrange Point 1 are two additional rideshare payloads: NOAA\u2019s Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) and the joint NASA\/University of Illinois Carruthers Geocorona Observatory. Liftoff took place on Wednesday, Sept. 24, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8007,973,479,1860,974,3817,766,190,975,316,2170,976],"class_list":["post-23706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-apl","tag-carruthers-geocorona-observatory","tag-falcon-9","tag-heliophysics","tag-imap","tag-l1","tag-lc-39a","tag-nasa","tag-noaa","tag-spacex","tag-sun","tag-swfo-l1"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23706"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23706"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32730,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23706\/revisions\/32730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}