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26m ago

SpaceX to Launch NASA–NOAA Trio to L1 for Space-Weather Warnings Today

The mission targets earlier storm alerts by stationing observatories one million miles sunward.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with NASA’s IMAP, the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and NOAA's SWFO-L1 spacecraft stands vertical at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the sun rises on September 22.
Image
An artist’s depiction of NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Princeton/Patrick McPike
This image shows NASA’s IMAP mission being loaded into the thermal vacuum chamber of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s X-Ray and Cryogenic Facility in Huntsville, Alabama, in March.

Overview

  • Liftoff is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A on a Falcon 9 after a one‑day weather delay, with a 90% favorable forecast.
  • The rideshare carries NASA’s IMAP, NOAA’s SWFO‑L1, and NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory bound for the Sun–Earth L1 point.
  • IMAP will map the heliosphere’s boundary with 10 instruments and broadcast real‑time data via its I‑ALiRT system, providing roughly 30 minutes of hazardous radiation warning.
  • SWFO‑L1 is NOAA’s first dedicated continuous space‑weather observatory, delivering real‑time solar wind, magnetic field readings and coronagraph imagery to improve CME lead times.
  • The spacecraft will take about four months to reach L1, begin returning some data during the cruise, and SWFO‑L1 is expected to be fully operational by spring 2026.