PUNCH

We’re a little under an hour and a half away from today’s launch of NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) and PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) missions aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 11:10 p.m. EDT (8:10 p.m. PDT). 

Here’s a closer look at some of today’s important countdown and ascent milestones (all times are approximate): 

COUNTDOWN:
Hr/Min/Sec    Event
– 00:38:00 SpaceX launch director verifies go for propellant load
– 00:35:00 RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
– 00:35:00 First stage liquid oxygen (LOX) loading begins
– 00:16:00 Second stage LOX loading begins
– 00:07:00 Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch
– 00:01:00 Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
– 00:01:00 Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
– 00:00:45 SpaceX launch director verifies go for launch
– 00:00:03 Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
00:00:00 Falcon 9 liftoff  

LAUNCH, LANDING, AND SPACECRAFT DEPLOYMENT:
Hr/Min/Sec Event
00:01:07 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:17 First stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:21 First and second stages separate
00:02:28 Second stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:03:05 Fairing jettison
00:07:39 First stage landing
00:08:15 Second stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:39:29 Second stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:40:12 Second stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
00:41:44 SPHEREx separation
00:52:04 PUNCH separation
00:52:54 PUNCH separation
01:29:55 Second stage engine starts (SES-3)
01:29:57 Second stage engine cutoff (SECO-3)
02:02:21 Second stage controlled entry into Pacific Ocean 

The live launch broadcast will begin at 10:15 p.m. EDT (7:15 p.m. PDT) and will air live on NASA+ and the agency’s website. 

Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. You can also continue following along right here on the blog as we take you through the entire flight profile. 

NASA is targeting 11:10 p.m. EDT (8:10 p.m. PDT) for launch of the agency’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) and PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) missions. The SPHEREx observatory and the rideshare PUNCH satellites will lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. 

Weather officials are predicting a 20% chance of favorable weather conditions for today’s launch, with the thick cloud rule serving as the primary weather concern. 

The SPHEREx mission will provide an all-sky spectral survey, creating a 3D map of the entire sky in 102 infrared wavelengths, which are not visible to the human eye. The space observatory will collect data on more than 450 million galaxies along with more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way over a two-year planned mission to help scientists investigate the origins of our universe. 

NASA’s PUNCH mission will study origins of the Sun’s outflow of material, or the solar wind, capturing continuous 3D images of the Sun’s corona and the solar wind’s journey into the solar system. PUNCH will deepen our understanding of the Sun and solar wind and how they affect humanity’s technology on Earth and our continued exploration of the solar system. 

The SPHEREx mission is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California for the agency’s Astrophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. BAE Systems built the telescope and the spacecraft bus. Data will be processed and archived at IPAC at Caltech in Pasadena, which manages JPL for NASA. Southwest Research Institute, based in San Antonio, Texas, leads the PUNCH mission and will operate the four spacecraft from its facilities in Boulder, Colorado.  NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch services. 

Watch NASA’s live launch coverage beginning at 10:15 p.m. EDT (7:15 p.m. PDT) on NASA+ and the agency’s website. 

Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. You can also continue following along right here on the blog as we take you through the entire flight profile for the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions. 

Good evening, and welcome to live launch coverage of NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) and PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) missions! 

The SPHEREx mission will search for key ingredients for life in our galaxy and improve our understanding of how the universe evolved. The PUNCH mission will reveal how the Sun’s corona gives rise to the solar wind and space weather that surround our home planet.   

We’re counting down to launch of these two NASA science missions aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 11:10 p.m. EDT (8:10 p.m. PDT). 

Watch live coverage of today’s launch activities on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. 

You can also continue following along right here on the blog as we take you through the entire flight profile for the missions. Today’s launch blog comes to you from the NASA News Center at NASA Kennedy. 

Join the conversation, follow the launch, and get mission updates from these accounts: 

X: @NASA, @NASAJPL, @NASAUniverse, @NASASun, @NASAKennedy, @NASA_LSP 
Facebook: NASA, NASA’s JPL, NASA Universe, NASASunScience, NASA’s Launch Services Program
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAJPL, @NASAUniverse 

For more information about either mission, visit: 

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spherex/ 

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/punch/ 

NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Saturday, March 8, for the launch of the agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions. The additional time will allow SpaceX to complete rocket preparations ahead of liftoff.

The launch window opens at 10:09 p.m. EST (7:09 p.m. PST) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California

The prelaunch news briefing now is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 7, with coverage streaming live on NASA+. Media may ask questions via phone. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.

The SPHEREx and PUNCH live launch broadcast will begin at 9:15 p.m., Saturday, March 8, and stream live on NASA+.

Visit the NASA website for more information about SPHEREx and PUNCH.