SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH Missions to Study the Universe and Solar Wind

Credit: SpaceX

Following the launch, NASA confirmed that all five deployed spacecraft—SPHEREx and the four PUNCH satellites—were in contact with mission controllers and operating as expected.

This mission marks a new approach for NASA in maximizing efficiency by utilizing excess launch capacity for secondary payloads. Originally, the Falcon 9 was procured solely for SPHEREx, but with both missions bound for similar orbits, NASA opted to include PUNCH as well.

“This is a real change in how we do business,” said Mark Clampin, acting deputy associate administrator for science at NASA, during a pre-launch briefing on March 7. “We can maximize the efficiency of launches by flying two payloads at once.”

Julianna Scheiman, director of NASA science missions at SpaceX, echoed this sentiment, stating, “We at SpaceX are big fans of rideshare.” While SpaceX has launched numerous commercial rideshare missions, this flight marked the first under NASA’s Launch Services Program. Two more NASA rideshare launches are planned for later this year, carrying the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) and Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) heliophysics missions.

Overcoming Delays and Technical Challenges

The launch was initially scheduled for late February but was delayed nearly two weeks due to technical and logistical challenges. Scheiman detailed several contributing factors, including:

- Issues with an impedance mismatch assembly, which required new fasteners.

- A leak in the payload fairing’s pneumatic system, necessitating disassembly and repairs.

- Weather-related transport delays for the encapsulated payload.

- A high-priority range operation, believed to be the landing of the X-37B spaceplane at Vandenberg on March 7.

- Two last-minute launch scrubs—one on March 8 due to an unspecified issue with the Falcon 9, and another on March 10 caused by poor weather and a data-flow issue with SPHEREx.

NASA's SPHEREx space observatory has three concentric cones to direct heat and light away from the telescope to keep it at the right temperature.  Credit: BAE Systems/JPL-Caltech/NASA

SPHEREx: Mapping the Universe in Infrared

SPHEREx is a $488 million NASA Explorer-class mission designed to conduct an all-sky infrared spectroscopic survey, providing new insights into cosmic history. With a 20-centimeter wide-field telescope, SPHEREx will scan the sky in 102 different wavelength bands from 0.75 to 5 microns, completing a full sky map every six months.

“Even though SPHEREx uses a small telescope, it looks at the universe in a new way,” said Jaime Bock, principal investigator for the mission at Caltech. “This new capability allows us to address some of the most compelling questions in astronomy.”

The mission focuses on three key scientific objectives:

1. Studying the early universe, including cosmic inflation shortly after the Big Bang.


2. Understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies throughout cosmic history.


3. Investigating water and organic molecules in our Milky Way, which could provide insights into the origins of life.



“The discoveries that SPHEREx will make will answer a fundamental question: how did we get here?” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director of NASA’s astrophysics division.

Built by BAE Systems, SPHEREx features a unique all-aluminum free-form optic design, allowing it to maintain cryogenic temperatures while staying lightweight and cost-effective. The spacecraft is easily recognizable due to its three concentric photon shields, which protect the instrument from solar interference.

One of the PUNCH satellites can be seen with its solar arrays deployed. Credit: Alex Valdez/USSF 30th Space Wing/NASA