SPHEREx

[Tywin]

NASA has selected, the new infrared telescope to be launch in 2023:


https://spacenews.com/nasa-selects-infrared-astronomy-survey-mission/ [14 Feb 2019]

The agency said in a Feb. 13 statement that it picked Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) as the next mission in its Medium-Class Explorers, or MIDEX, program of astrophysics missions. SPHEREx will be built for launch in 2023 at a cost, excluding launch, of $242 million.

“SPHEREx will explore the beginning of the universe, the history of galaxy formation, and the role of interstellar ices during the birth of new stars and planets, while providing a unique all-sky data set for astronomy,” said James Bock, a professor of physics at Caltech and principal investigator for the mission, in a statement.

Crosslink: Launch discussion is here: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=53004

[ZachS09]

The question now is: what launch vehicle could carry SPHEREx into orbit?

If it’s Falcon 9, it would be a waste since a lot of fuel would be left in both stages (with the exception of an RTLS landing).

 It would make more sense if either Pegasus or Minotaur-C can do the job.

[Tywin]

Maybe for this time, could by the Firefly rocket or the Relativity are ready for this launch?

[whitelancer64]

It says on the Caltech SPHEREx website that the payload mass is 75 kg.

So SpaceX is wayyyyyy overkill. Electron could do it, or the Pegasus XL.

[matthewkantar]

Is a ride share possible?

[ZachS09]

Is a ride share possible?

Could be possible; I would guess if a heavier Earth observation satellite served as the primary payload, then SPHEREx can hitch a ride to its orbit.

[ZachS09]

It says on the Caltech SPHEREx website that the payload mass is 75 kg.

So SpaceX is wayyyyyy overkill. Electron could do it, or the Pegasus XL.

On Spaceflight Now, SPHEREx’s mass was listed as 178 kg.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/02/14/nasa-selects-mission-to-probe-the-history-of-galaxies/

[Zed_Noir]

It says on the Caltech SPHEREx website that the payload mass is 75 kg.

So SpaceX is wayyyyyy overkill. Electron could do it, or the Pegasus XL.

On Spaceflight Now, SPHEREx’s mass was listed as 178 kg.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/02/14/nasa-selects-mission-to-probe-the-history-of-galaxies/

What the CalTech SPHEREx website stated was a 74.5 kg mass for the payload, the single optical instrument. Not the entire spacecraft.

Ride share for the SPHEREx spacecraft might be tricky. From the Spaceflight Now link up thread the spacecraft is to be deployed in 700 km altitude Polar orbit.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/02/14/nasa-selects-mission-to-probe-the-history-of-galaxies/

[AegeanBlue]

The bane of the space science section: rather than have a discussion on capabilities or the status of the mission, the first talk is about launch vehicle.

[Blackstar]

The bane of the space science section: rather than have a discussion on capabilities or the status of the mission, the first talk is about launch vehicle.

It's like when I go on vacation, I don't really care where I go, what I see, or what I do. I need to know the model number of the rental car.

[CuddlyRocket]

The question now is: what launch vehicle could carry SPHEREx into orbit?

If it’s Falcon 9, it would be a waste since a lot of fuel would be left in both stages (with the exception of an RTLS landing).

It would make more sense if either Pegasus or Minotaur-C can do the job.

What you need to do is establish which launchers have the capacity and availability to do the mission and then establish which of those is the cheapest! What does it matter to those who are paying for the launch how much propellant might go unused?

[Lar]

The bane of the space science section: rather than have a discussion on capabilities or the status of the mission, the first talk is about launch vehicle.

It's like when I go on vacation, I don't really care where I go, what I see, or what I do. I need to know the model number of the rental car.

I already know I am going to do a lot of really cool stuff on my vacation. I can even tell you all about it. But knowing what car I am going to get when I arrive is super important. Some cars just can't cut it (try putting 5 people and all their luggage into an Escape, like we tried once in Alaska) and some might have capability but are WAY too expensive. So I am going to go to a site that focuses on rental cars to talk about what is in the Hertz fleet and so forth. Not about what I plan to do on vacation.

This site is primarily focused on launchers. It's what many of us are interested in. Sorry about that.

[zubenelgenubi]

Pandemic may delay several NASA astrophysics missions, dated September 24, 2020

September 21 meeting of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee, Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s astrophysics division:

An Explorer-class mission called Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx), selected by NASA for development in early 2019, could be delayed as well. Work on the mission has slowed down during the pandemic, he said, so a “notional” launch date of 2024 might not hold.

[leovinus]

#NASA has selected #SpaceX to launch their Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) near-infrared astrophysics mission from Vandenberg, CA in June 2024 on a #Falcon9.

https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/1357446408526323714

[Targeteer]

February 04, 2021
RELEASE 21-013
NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for SPHEREx Astrophysics Mission

NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission. SPHEREx is a planned two-year astrophysics mission to survey the sky in the near-infrared light, which, though not visible to the human eye, serves as a powerful tool for answering cosmic questions involving the birth of the universe, and the subsequent development of galaxies.

It also will search for water and organic molecules – essentials for life as we know it – in regions where stars are born from gas and dust, known as stellar nurseries, as well as disks around stars where new planets could be forming. Astronomers will use the mission to gather data on more than 300 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in our own Milky Way galaxy.

The total cost for NASA to launch SPHEREx is approximately $98.8 million, which includes the launch service and other mission related costs.

The SPHEREx mission currently is targeted to launch as early as June 2024 on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

NASA’s Launch Services Program at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida will manage the SpaceX launch service. The mission, which is funded by the Astrophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, is led by the Explorer’s Program at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is responsible for the mission’s overall project management, systems engineering, integration, and testing and mission operations.

For more information about NASA programs and missions, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

[redliox]

Nice that it has a clearly focused goal of studying the beginning of the universe and galactic formation.

There seems to be a heavy bias toward infrared.  Isn't there a need for missions covering other spectra, especially ultraviolet?  Is this partly because longer wavelengths penetrate better not to mention red-shift for primordial objects?

[Don2]

There seems to be a heavy bias toward infrared. 

Only very hot stars emit a lot in the uv, and distant objects are redshifted. Also ir wavelengths are better at penetrating dust.

[tpw2]

Besides hot stars, there are a lot of objects that emit a lot of UV (AGN, cataclysmic variables etc.). The big problem is absorption by dust and, at wavelengths below the Lyman limit, by neutral hydrogen gas. The near-UV part is not affected that badly, but it can often be observed by the same telescopes that are used in the optical (for example, COS instrument on HST).

Absorption by dust or hydrogen is not a problem when observing the Sun, and many heliophysics missions have UV instruments.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

[catdlr]

It's been a while, but an update is coming:


https://twitter.com/NASAJPL/status/1885059238273110385

NASA JPL

@NASAJPL
THIS FRIDAY: Learn more about SPHEREx, NASA's next cosmic mapmaker ✨

Tune in at 9am PT / 12pm ET as experts from NASA and the mission talk about the space telescope's goals ahead of its launch, currently targeting Feb. 27: https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1yoKMyojkDDKQ 

Drop your questions below!

https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1yoKMyojkDDKQ