Status Update ▪ Instrument Tested and Delivered ▪ Observatory I&T in Progress ▪ Working Observatory TVAC Anomalies ▪ Feb 2025 Launch
PUNCH is scheduled to launch in April of 2025.
Spacecraft: Constellation of four ~40kg suitcase-sized satellites
SPHEREx remains on track after reaction wheel issueNovember 12, 2024[...]SPHEREx will separately launch in April 2025 on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, with a NASA heliophysics mission, Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH), flying as a secondary payload. Clampin said the next major milestone for SPHEREx is an operations readiness review in early December.[...]
According to PUNCH PM Ronnie Killough, PUNCH took on many forms throughout development before settling on the current mission configuration. PUNCH was initially to be the primary payload on a Pegasus launch vehicle until changing to the current launch plan (as a rideshare with SPHEREx on a deployer ring) which occurred after Preliminary Design Review (PDR). As rideshares of this nature are a newer process, PUNCH is again paving new ground as programmatic and technical rideshare processes are developed and refined.
Notably, the lenses inside the Optical Lens Assembly (OLA) came loose during instrument-level vibration testing. The SwRI and the Explorers program worked with the vendor to determine the cause of failure, resolving the issue with enhanced bonding on the lenses. In an effort to mitigate cost and schedule impact, SwRI and the vendor worked together to come up with a novel solution without requiring a full OLA re-design, which would have taken significantly more time and money.The PUNCH team resolved a recent radio failure in a similar manner. The problem arose during NFI Observatory Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) testing. After a six-week investigation, the team identified the root cause as thermal runaway due to a design flaw in the radio discovered by the vendor during the subsequent investigation. This flaw had not been discovered previously because, while PUNCH was using the hardware within product specifications, it was not being operated in the same way as before. The resolution required all four observatories to be disassembled to gain access to the radios for rework.
As a result of this collaborative approach, all radios were successfully reworked and all four observatories have been reintegrated. Two observatories will reenter TVAC testing in early October, with the testing plan revised to TVAC-test the observatories in pairs for cost and schedule savings. While this failure pushed project reserves to their limits, the Program Office worked with the project and other stakeholders to address the cost and schedule impacts.
BAE Systems (LON: BA) has completed environmental testing of NASA's Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) Observatory. This mission will conduct all-sky spectral surveys for the first time and provide scientists with new insights into the formation of the universe and the galaxies that inhabit it.
BAE Systems also led the observatory's integration and environmental testing program, which includes thermal vacuum chamber tests that simulate temperature and conditions in space, vibration and acoustic tests that mimic launch conditions, and electromagnetic interference and compatibility tests to ensure the spacecraft isn't vulnerable to electrical disruptions. With testing completed, BAE Systems will now enter final preparations for shipment and launch.SPHEREx is scheduled to launch no earlier than February 2025.
The observatory will lend insight into what happened after the big bang, measure the glow of galaxies near and far, and search the Milky way for building blocks of life.NASA and SpaceX are targeting late February 2025 for the launch of the agency’s next astrophysics observatory, SPHEREx. Short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, SPHEREx will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.About the size of a subcompact car, SPHEREx will enter a polar orbit around Earth and create a map of the entire sky in 3D, taking images in every direction, like scanning the inside of a globe. The map will contain hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies, showing them in 102 colors (each a different wavelength of light).Scientists will use SPHEREx’s all-sky map to achieve the mission’s three key science goals. The first is to shed light on a cosmic phenomenon called inflation, a brief but powerful cosmic event when space itself increased in size by a trillion-trillionfold less than a second after the big bang. The observatory will measure the distribution of hundreds of millions of galaxies to improve understanding of what drove inflation and of the physics behind this event.The SPHEREx mission will also measure the collective glow from galaxies near and far, including light from hidden galaxies that haven’t been individually observed. This data will provide a more complete picture of all the objects and sources radiating in the universe.Its third key science goal is to search the Milky Way galaxy for icy granules of water, carbon dioxide, and other essential building blocks of life. The mission will help scientists discover the location and abundance of these icy compounds in our galaxy, giving them a better sense of how likely they are to be incorporated into newly forming planets.Launching as a secondary payload on the same Falcon 9 rocket as SPHEREx will be NASA’s PUNCH mission (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere). Led by Southwest Research Institute’s office in Boulder, Colorado, and managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, PUNCH is a constellation of four small satellites heading to low Earth orbit that will make global, 3D observations of the Sun’s corona to learn how the mass and energy there become solar wind.
Registration is open for digital content creators to attend the launch of NASA’s Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission, and NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission. SPHEREx will provide the first all-sky spectral survey, collecting data on more than 450 million galaxies along with more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way in order to explore the origins of the universe. PUNCH is a constellation of four small satellites in low-Earth orbit that will make global, 3D observations of the Sun’s corona to learn how the mass and energy there become solar wind. NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than February 2025 for the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. [...]NASA Social registration for the SPHEREx and PUNCH launch opens on Monday, Dec. 9, and the deadline to apply is Monday, Dec. 23 at noon ET. All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
By this application, SSC Space US dba USN request a 30-day STA to support PUNCH LEOP operations from its Alaska station commencing February 20th 2025. PUNCH is a NASA SwRI mission images the Sun
A minor update on the SPHEREx mission at #AAS245: the spacecraft is currently en route to Vandenberg for its launch late next month on a Falcon 9.
Media accreditation is open for the launch of two NASA missions that will explore the mysteries of our universe and Sun.The agency is targeting late February to launch its SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) observatory, a space telescope that will create a 3D map of the entire sky to help scientists investigate the origins of our universe. NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, which will study origins of the Sun’s outflow of material, or the solar wind, also will ride to space with the telescope.NASA and SpaceX will launch the missions aboard the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.Accredited media will have the opportunity to participate in a series of prelaunch briefings and interviews with key mission personnel, including a science briefing the week of launch. NASA will communicate additional details regarding the media event schedule as the launch date approaches.Media interested in covering the launch must apply for media accreditation. The application deadline for U.S. citizens is 11:59 p.m. EST, Thursday, Feb. 6, while international media without U.S. citizenship must apply by 11:59 p.m., Monday, Jan. 20.
NASA’s SPHEREx spacecraft arrived Tuesday, Jan. 14, at Astrotech Space Operations located inside Vandenberg Space Force Base in California for final processing before launching on its two-year mission. The SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) observatory is targeted to launch at the end of February on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E. Following launch, SPHEREx will support NASA’s goals of discovering the secrets of the universe and searching for the ingredients for life elsewhere. The telescope will scan the sky in the infrared spectrum from a position in Earth orbit and complete four all-sky maps. These willallow scientists to learn about a variety of topics, including the origins of water on planets like Earth, to the physics that governed the universe less than one second after its birth. After final tests and checkouts, teams will mate SPHEREx and its rideshare PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) in preparation for encapsulation in the payload fairings of the Falcon 9 rocket.
💼An on-time arrival for four suitcase-sized satellites!PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) is a bit like a carry-on for the SPHEREx launch coming up in late February. PUNCH will study how the mass and energy of the Sun’s corona become the solar wind.
NASA KennedyKSC-20250121-PH-ANV01_0004Crews conduct a solar array deployment test on the spacecraft of NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) satellites at Astrotech Space Operations located on Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. The four satellites of PUNCH will make 3D observations of the Sun’s corona to learn how the mass and energy becomes solar wind. PUNCH, along with NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), a space telescope, will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in late February 2025.Photo credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Alex Valdez
NASA JPL Prepping for Full Year of Launches, Mission MilestonesJan 23, 2025[...]Shaped like the bell of a trumpet and as big as a subcompact car, NASA’s SPHEREx space observatory is aiming for the stars. Known formally as the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, the mission will create four 3D maps of the entire sky in order to improve humanity’s understanding of the universe — how it expanded after the big bang, where ingredients of life can be found in ice grains, and much more. Target launch date: no earlier than Feb. 27 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.[...]
Go behind the scenes with the team working on NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope as they talk through their rigorous testing process.
NASA news conference to discuss a new telescope that will improve our understanding of how the universe evolved and search for key ingredients for life in our galaxy. Agency experts will preview NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) mission, which will help scientists better understand the structure of the universe, how galaxies form and evolve, and the origins and abundance of water. Launch is targeted for no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 27. Briefing participants include: • Laurie Leshin, director, NASA JPL • Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters • James Fanson, project manager, SPHEREx, NASA JPL • Beth Fabinsky, deputy project manager, SPHEREx, NASA JPL • Jamie Bock, principal investigator, SPHEREx, Caltech • Cesar Marin, SPHEREx integration engineer, Launch Services Program, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
NASA will hold a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 4, to share information about the agency’s upcoming PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, which is targeted to launch no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 27.The agency’s PUNCH mission is a constellation of four small satellites. When they arrive in low Earth orbit, the satellites will make global, 3D observations of the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, and help NASA learn how the mass and energy there become solar wind. By imaging the Sun’s corona and the solar wind together, scientists hope to better understand the entire inner heliosphere – Sun, solar wind, and Earth – as a single connected system.Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website at: https://www.nasa.gov/liveParticipants include: • Madhulika Guhathakurta, NASA program scientist, NASA Headquarters • Nicholeen Viall, PUNCH mission scientist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center • Craig DeForest, PUNCH principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute
NASA will host a news conference at 12 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 31, at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to discuss the SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) mission, which is targeted to launch no earlier than Feb. 27. The SPHEREx space telescope will help scientists better understand the structure of the universe, how galaxies form and evolve, and the origins and abundance of water and other key ingredients for life in our galaxy.
There is a news conference scheduled for tomorrow (Jan. 31) previewing the mission ahead of launch.https://plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-video/spherex-mission-countdown-preview-to-launch/QuoteNASA will host a news conference at 12 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 31, at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to discuss the SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) mission, which is targeted to launch no earlier than Feb. 27. The SPHEREx space telescope will help scientists better understand the structure of the universe, how galaxies form and evolve, and the origins and abundance of water and other key ingredients for life in our galaxy.
NASA's Launch Services Program@NASA_LSPLaunch, Land, & Re-Launch!This SpaceX Falcon 9 booster is currently going through refurbishment activities at Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA. The SPHEREx and PUNCH missions will be the third flight for this booster, having previously flown on NROL-126 and Transporter-12.Refurbishment activities are expected to take place over the next few weeks. Once complete, SpaceX will transport the booster to Space Launch Complex 4 for integration with the second stage and SPHEREx/PUNCH Encapsulated Assembly in preparation for launch.
