Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
25 Years Strong: NASA’s Student Launch Competition Accepting 2025 Proposals
-
Similar Topics
-
-
By NASA
From left to right, NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) missions will map our Sun’s influence across the solar system in new ways. Credit: NASA NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for an observatory designed to study space weather and explore and map the boundaries of our solar neighborhood.
Launching with IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) are two rideshare missions, NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1), both of which will provide insight into space weather and its impacts at Earth and across the solar system.
Liftoff of the missions on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for 7:32 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, Sept. 23, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Watch coverage beginning at 6:40 a.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and more. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The IMAP spacecraft will study how the Sun’s energy and particles interact with the heliosphere — an enormous protective bubble of space around our solar system — to enhance our understanding of space weather, cosmic radiation, and their impacts on Earth and human and robotic space explorers. The spacecraft and its two rideshares will orbit approximately one million miles from Earth, positioned toward the Sun at a location known as Lagrange Point 1.
NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is a small satellite that will observe Earth’s outermost atmospheric layer, the exosphere. It will image the faint glow of ultraviolet light from this region, called the geocorona, to better understand how space weather impacts our planet. The Carruthers mission continues the legacy of the Apollo era, expanding on measurements first taken during Apollo 16.
The SWFO-L1 spacecraft will monitor space weather and detect solar storms in advance, serving as an early warning beacon for potentially disruptive space weather, helping safeguard Earth’s critical infrastructure and technological-dependent industries. The SWFO-L1 spacecraft is the first NOAA observatory designed specifically for and fully dedicated to continuous, operational space weather observations.
Media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch has passed. NASA’s media credentialing policy is available online. For questions about media accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Sunday, Sept. 21
2:30 p.m. – NASA Prelaunch News Conference on New Space Weather Missions
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington Brad Williams, IMAP program executive, NASA Headquarters Irene Parker, deputy assistant administrator for Systems at NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service Denton Gibson, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program, NASA Kennedy Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science Missions, SpaceX Arlena Moses, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Space Force Watch the briefing on the agency’s website or NASA’s YouTube channel.
Media may ask questions in person or via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation for previously credentialed media. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
3:45 p.m. – NASA, NOAA Science News Conference on New Space Weather Missions
Joe Westlake, director, Heliophysics Division, NASA Headquarters David McComas, IMAP principal investigator, Princeton University Lara Waldrop, Carruthers Geocorona Observatory principal investigator, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Jamie Favors, director, Space Weather Program, Heliophysics Division, NASA Headquarters Clinton Wallace, director, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center James Spann, senior scientist, NOAA Office of Space Weather Observations Watch the briefing on the agency’s website or NASA’s YouTube channel.
Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. Members of the public may ask questions on social media using the hashtag #AskNASA.
Monday, Sept. 22
11:30 a.m. – In-person media one-on-one interviews with the following:
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Kieran Hegarty, IMAP project manager, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab Jamie Rankin, IMAP instrument lead for Solar Wind and Pickup Ion, Princeton University John Clarke, Carruthers deputy principal investigator, Boston University Dimitrios Vassiliadis, SWFO-L1 program scientist, NOAA Brent Gordon, deputy director, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center Remote media may request a one-on-one video interview online by 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18.
Tuesday, Sept. 23
6:40 a.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime and more. NASA’s Spanish launch coverage begins on NASA+, and the agency’s Spanish-language YouTube channel.
7:32 a.m. – Launch
Audio-Only Coverage
Audio-only of the launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, or -1240. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA+ media launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.
NASA Website Launch Coverage
Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include links to live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 6 a.m., Sept. 23, as the countdown milestones occur. Streaming video and photos of the launch will be accessible on demand shortly after liftoff. Follow countdown coverage on the IMAP blog.
For questions about countdown coverage, contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con María-José Viñas: maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov.
Attend Launch Virtually
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.
Watch, Engage on Social Media
Let people know you’re watching the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by following and tagging these accounts:
X: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASolarSystem, @NOAASatellies
Facebook: NASA, NASA Kennedy, NASA Solar System, NOAA Satellites
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASolarSystem, @NOAASatellites
For more information about these missions, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/sun
-end-
Abbey Interrante
Headquarters, Washington
301-201-0124
abbey.a.interrante@nasa.gov
Sarah Frazier
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
202-853-7191
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov
Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov
John Jones-Bateman
NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service, Silver Spring, Md.
202-242-0929
john.jones-bateman@noaa.gov
Share
Details
Last Updated Sep 15, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Heliophysics Division Carruthers Geocorona Observatory (GLIDE) Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) Kennedy Space Center Science Mission Directorate View the full article
-
-
By European Space Agency
Week in images: 08-12 September 2025
Discover our week through the lens
View the full article
-
By NASA
NSTGRO Homepage
Andrew Arends
University of California, Davis
Astronaut-Powered Laundry Machine
Allan Attia
Stanford University
Computational Modeling of Lithium Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster for Nuclear Electric Propulsion
Michael Auth
University of California, Santa Barbara
Non-Contact, Real-Time Diagnostics of Battery Aging in 18650 Cells During the Lunar Night Using Acoustic Spectroscopy
Nicholas Brennan
Cornell University
Spin Wave-Based Neuromorphic Coprocessor for Advanced AI Applications
John Carter
Purdue University
Spectroscopic Measurements and Kinetic Modeling of Non-Boltzmann CN for Entry Systems Modeling
Thomas Clark
University of Colorado, Boulder
Data-Driven Representations of Trajectories in Cislunar Space
Nicholas Cmkovich
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Development of Radiation Tolerant Additively Manufactured Refractory Compositionally Complex Alloys
Kara Hardy
Michigan Technological University
Design and Optimization of Cuttlebone-Inspired Cellular Materials Using Turing Systems
Tyler Heggenes
Utah State University
Mitigating Spacecraft Charging Issues Through High-Precision, Temperature-Dependent Measurements of Dynamic Radiation Induced Conductivity
Joseph Hesse-Withbroe
University of Colorado, Boulder
Decreasing Astronaut Radiation Doses with Magnetic Shields
Niya Hope-Glenn
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Investigating the Selectivity of CO2 Hydrogenation to Ethylene in a Plasma Reactor for Mars ISRU
Adrianna Hudyma
University of Minnesota
Biorthogonal Translation System for Production of Pharmaceuticals During Space Missions
Tushaar Jain
Carnegie Mellon University
Towards On-Demand Planetary Landing Through On-Board Autonomous Mapping and Cross-Modality Map Relative Localization
Devin Johnson
Purdue University
Numerical and Experimental Methodology to Optimize Propellant Injection, Mixing, and Response in Rotating Detonation Engines
Jack Joshi
University of Texas at Austin
State Representations for Measurement Fusion and Uncertainty Propagation in Cislunar Regime
John Knoll
William Marsh Rice University
Dexterous Manipulation via Vision-Intent-Action Models
Joseph Ligresti
Purdue University
Effects of Vacuum Conditions on FORP Reactivity and Long-Term Viability of MON-25/MMH Thrusters
Alexander Madison
University of Central Florida
Hybrid Microwave Sintering of Lunar Regolith with 2.45GHz and 18-28GHz
Aurelia Moriyama-Gurish
Yale University
Investigating Fundamental High Strain Rate Deformation Mechanisms to Bridge the Experiment-Computation Gap and Local Thermal Shock Response in C103
Sophia Nowak
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Pulsed Laser System for Calibration of High Resolution X-ray Microcalorimeters
Jacob Ortega
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Forging the Future Lunar Settlement with In-Situ Aluminum Extraction
John Riley O’Toole
University of Michigan
Laser-Based Measurements of Electron Properties in Hall Effect Thrusters with Non-Conventional Propellants Enabling for Cis-Lunar, Mars, and Deep Space Missions
Cort Reinarz
Texas A&M University
Utilizing Biometrics in Closed-Loop Compression Garment Systems as a Countermeasure for Orthostatic Intolerance
Erica Sawczynec
University of Texas at Austin
A Monolithic Cross-Dispersed Grism for Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
Ingrid Shan
California Institute of Technology
Micro-Architected Metallic Lattices for Lunar Dust Mitigation
Pascal Spino
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Centimeter-Scale Robots for Accessing Europa’s Benthic Zone
Benjamin Stern
Northwestern University, Chicago
A Near-Field Thermoreflectance Approach for Nanoscale Thermal Mapping on Nanostructured Sige
Titus Szobody
William Marsh Rice University
Leveraging Polymeric Photochemistry in Ionic Liquid-Based Mirror Synthesis for Space Telescope Optics
Seneca Velling
California Institute of Technology
Constraining Weathering Kinetics Under Experimentally Simulated Venus Conditions
Zhuochen Wang
Georgia Institute of Technology
Optimal Covariance Steering on Lie Groups for Precision Powered Descent
Stanley Wang
Stanford University
Compact Robots with Long Reach for Space Exploration and Maintenance Tasks
Thomas Westenhofer
University of California, Irvine
Kinetic Modeling of Carbon Mass Loss in Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
Andrew Witty
Purdue University
Scalable Nanoporous Paints with High Solar Reflectance and Durability in Space Environments
Jonathan Wrieden
University of Maryland, College Park
A Stochastic Model for Predicting Charged Orbital Debris Probability Densities by Utilizing Earth’s Electromagnetic Field to Guide Active Debris Remediation Efforts
Jasen Zion
California Institute of Technology
Large-Format, Fast SNSPD Cameras Benchmarked with Neutral Atom Arrays
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Space Technology Mission Directorate
Space Technology Research Grants
NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO)
Technology
Share
Details
Last Updated Sep 12, 2025 EditorLoura Hall Related Terms
Space Technology Research Grants Space Technology Mission Directorate View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.