NASA’s SPHEREX and PUNCH Missions Launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base (Highlights)

Highlights from the March 11, 2025, launch of NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope, which will observe hundreds of millions of galaxies near and far, mapping the entire sky in 102 wavelengths that are invisible to the human eye. The spacecraft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:10 p.m. EST (8:10 p.m. PDT). SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) will orbit Earth for a two-year prime mission and create a three-dimensional map of the cosmos. This will help scientists answer major questions about what happened in the first second after the big bang, how galaxies form and evolve, and the origins and abundance of water and other key ingredients for life in our galaxy. Ride-sharing with SPHEREx was NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, which will study the outer portion of the Sun, the corona, to understand how solar wind forms. For more information on SPHEREx: nasa.gov/spherex For more information on PUNCH: science.nasa.gov/mission/punch Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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3... 2... 1... Ignition. Liftoff of the Falcon 9.

Go SpaceX. Go SPHEREx. Go PUNCH! SPHEREx and PUNCH on their way to map out our universe like never before and revolutionize space weather forecasting. Stage separation confirmed.

MVac ignition. Stage one boost back startup. Coming up next, we will see fairing deploy. And that's when the two fairing halves will separate and expose SPHEREx and PUNCH to the atmosphere of space. Fairing separation confirmed.

In about 30 seconds, we will have payload deploy of SPHEREx. SPHEREx separation confirmed. SPHEREx is drifting away from Falcon 9's second stage, confirming deployment. The mission isn't over yet. Falcon 9’s second stage is still carrying NASA's PUNCH mission.

Separation confirmed. Wow! Look at that! To actually see them. That’s great.

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