Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Watch NASA's prelaunch update for SPHEREx and PUNCH missions.
The SPHEREx space telescope will survey the sky in optical and infrared light, gathering data on more than 450 million galaxies, and 100 million stars in our own galaxy. PUNCH will use four suitcase-sized satellites in low Earth orbit to observe the Sun, and tell us more about the space weather that can impact communications on Earth.
The launch window opens at 10:09 p.m. EST (7:09 p.m. PST) on Saturday, March 8, for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Join experts from NASA, SpaceX, and the U.S. Air Force to discuss the prelaunch status.
Participants:
Mark Clampin, acting deputy associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
James Fanson, SPHEREx project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
David Cheney, PUNCH program executive, NASA
Denton Gibson, launch manager, NASA’s Launch Services Program
Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science Missions, SpaceX
1st Lt. Ina Park, launch weather officer, 30th Operations Support Squadron, U.S. Air Force
For more information on SPHEREx, visit jpl.nasa.gov/missions/spherex
For more information on PUNCH, visit science.nasa.gov/mission/punch
Watch NASA's prelaunch update for SPHEREx and PUNCH missions.
The SPHEREx space telescope will survey the sky in optical and infrared light, gathering data on more than 450 million galaxies, and 100 million stars in our own galaxy. PUNCH will use four suitcase-sized satellites in low Earth orbit to observe the Sun, and tell us more about the space weather that can impact communications on Earth.
The launch window opens at 10:09 p.m. EST (7:09 p.m. PST) on Saturday, March 8, for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Join experts from NASA, SpaceX, and the U.S. Air Force to discuss the prelaunch status.
Participants:
Mark Clampin, acting deputy associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
James Fanson, SPHEREx project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
David Cheney, PUNCH program executive, NASA
Denton Gibson, launch manager, NASA’s Launch Services Program
Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science Missions, SpaceX
1st Lt. Ina Park, launch weather officer, 30th Operations Support Squadron, U.S. Air Force
For more information on SPHEREx, visit jpl.nasa.gov/missions/spherex
For more information on PUNCH, visit science.nasa.gov/mission/punch
