Three space weather satellites launched to study solar storms

A trio of space weather satellites blasted off Wednesday morning to study the sun’s violent activity, which produces dazzling auroras but can disrupt communications and endanger astronauts in flight.

The three spacecraft lifted off aboard a single SpaceX rocket from Kennedy Space Center shortly after sunrise, heading for an orbit around the sun nearly 1.6 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Earth. Each satellite will operate independently under separate missions.

The combined project, valued at $1.6 billion, involves both NASA and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NASA’s Joe Westlake described it as “the ultimate cosmic carpool,” noting the cost savings of sharing a single rocket.

Leading the mission lineup is NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), the first to deploy. IMAP will explore the outer boundaries of the heliosphere — the vast, solar wind-driven bubble that shields our solar system. It is also designed to provide up to 30 minutes’ advance warning of solar storms, a critical safety measure for astronauts under NASA’s Artemis lunar program. Officials expect IMAP to be fully operational before four astronauts fly around the moon next year.

Also aboard is NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, which will study Earth’s faint, outermost atmosphere that stretches beyond the moon. It is named after George Carruthers, the late scientist who developed the ultraviolet telescope left on the moon during Apollo 16 in 1972.

NOAA’s newest space weather observatory will provide continuous monitoring of solar activity and the solar wind, enhancing forecasts of potentially harmful flares.

NASA has invested more than $879 million in its two missions, while NOAA’s share amounts to $693 million. Officials expect NASA’s satellites to be fully operational by early next year and NOAA’s observatory by spring.

While NASA already operates a fleet of sun-observing spacecraft, science mission chief Nicky Fox said the new satellites carry more advanced instruments that will deliver sharper and more sensitive measurements. “Just being able to put all those together gives us a much better view of the sun,” she said.

Officials stressed that the primary goal is not to study auroras, but to better understand solar activity and safeguard Earth. For astronauts, timely forecasts will be vital. In the event of a major solar storm, the Artemis crew would take temporary shelter in a protective area beneath their spacecraft’s floor to shield themselves from radiation.