Watch the Launch of NASA’s EZIE Mission

A small, rectangular satellite with two large solar arrays appears in Earth orbit above green-colored auroras. Four yellow-colored beams extend downward from the spacecraft toward the auroras.
NASA’s EZIE mission will use a trio of CubeSats to study intense electrical currents called auroral electrojets, which flow through Earth’s upper atmosphere in the polar regions where auroras glow in the sky. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission is poised to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The 17-minute launch window opens at 2:39 a.m. EDT on March 15 (11:39 p.m. PDT on March 14).

Follow live launch coverage from SpaceX starting about 15 minutes prior to liftoff, or around 2:22 a.m. EDT on March 15 (11:22 p.m. PDT on March 14).

The trio of EZIE CubeSats are launching aboard the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX via launch integrator Maverick Space Systems.

Following the launch, the EZIE spacecraft will perform in-orbit checkouts within 10 days, and then the mission will be ready to begin science and instrument checkout. Once all systems are confirmed to be operational, EZIE will begin its science mission to study intense electrical currents called auroral electrojets, which flow through Earth’s upper atmosphere where auroras (northern and southern lights) glow in the sky.

Follow NASA’s EZIE blog for mission updates.

Visit NASA’s EZIE website for more information about the mission.