SpaceX launches 3 probes for NASA, NOAA to study space weather
SpaceX launched a trio of spacecraft Wednesday morning, each meant to study the sun and space weather, and their affects on Earth.
SpaceX prepares to launch its Falcon 9 rocket on a Rideshare mission for NASA and NOAA from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI UPI NASA's IMAP will study the sun's heliosphere while NOAA's SWFO-L1 will observe its weather activity. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI UPI
Sept. 24 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched a trio of spacecraft Wednesday morning, each meant to study the sun and space weather, and their affects on Earth.
The Falcon 9 rocket launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida around 7:30 a.m. EDT.
The primary payload on the flight was NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, also known as IMAP, Space.com reported.
This observatory plans to study the heliosphere, a large, magnetic bubble created by the sun that envelops the entire solar system. The bubble protects the solar system from harmful radiation, critical to astronauts operating in space.
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NASA said the IMAP observatory will be able to provide radiation warnings to astronauts in space.
Nicky Fox, the associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said radiation is a "real threat" to astronauts operating on the moon or potentially farther.
"Humanity has only ever existed inside our protective magnetosphere, and as we travel beyond that protective shield, whether it be to the moon or to Mars, the actionable information from missions like IMAP will keep our astronauts safe," she said.
The IMAP observatory, along with the other two probes, will be traveling 108 days to reach the Lagrange point. This is a spot about 1 million miles from Earth in the direction of the sun, NASA said.
One of the other two probes, NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, is expected to analyze Earth's exosphere "to better understand how space weather impacts our planet," the agency said.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Follow-on spacecraft is expected to track solar storms and provide advanced warning to interests both in space and on Earth. Solar storms are known to cause problems in Earth's magnetic field and create problems for satellites and even power grids on the ground.
