US EditionSpaceX Set to Launch NASA TRACERS Mission
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, JUL 23 – NASA's twin TRACERS satellites will study magnetic reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere to improve space weather forecasts that affect satellites and power grids, with a $170 million mission cost.
- NASA launched the TRACERS twin satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on July 23, 2025, after a regional power outage caused a one-day delay.
- The mission will study magnetic reconnection, which drives space weather by funneling charged particles into Earth's atmosphere, impacting satellites, grids, and communications, NASA's website said.
- Twin TRACERS satellites built by Boeing orbit in sun-synchronous polar orbits, enabling nearly real-time plasma and magnetic comparisons, NASA briefing said.
- Joe Westlake, NASA's Heliophysics Division Director, said `It will help protect GPS, power grids and astronauts by enabling earlier forecasts of solar storm activity` and NASA improves space weather forecasting for Earth's safety.
- These two satellites, said SwRI's Mark Phillips, will collaborate with other missions to advance space weather understanding during their one-year primary mission.
31 Articles
31 Articles
Vandenberg launch sends NASA’s TRACERS skyward, sonic boom rattles Central Coast
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday morning, carrying NASA’s TRACERS mission to study the Sun’s interaction with Earth’s magnetic field. The launch, delayed from Tuesday, ended with a sonic boom heard across Santa…
UI led space mission set to launch Wednesday after eight years of development - The Daily Iowan
After years of research and hard work, the TRACERS spacecraft, a duo satellite project, is set to launch on Wednesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The project is led by University of Iowa Physics and Astronomy professor David Miles and costs around $170 million to create. Work on this project hasn’t stopped since it started. NASA is one benefactor that has been vital to the project. The study, named TRACERS for Tandem Reconnec…
NASA TRACERS mission from Vandenberg moved to Wednesday due to 'airspace concerns'
The SpaceX Falcon 9 launch has moved to its backup day, Wednesday, July 23. Area residents can expect to experience a series of sonic booms shortly after the launch of NASA's TRACERS mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East at…
FAA says power outage forced postponement of SpaceX TRACERS launch
WASHINGTON :The Federal Aviation Administration said a regional power outage disrupted telecommunications at the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center, which forced postponing of the SpaceX Falcon 9 TRACERS launch on Tuesday.The regional power outage in the Santa Barbara area disrupted the center which
SpaceX: ‘Air space concerns’ causes last-minute scrub of NASA’s TRACERS mission – Spaceflight Now
NASA’s two TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) are encapsulated along with five other satellites ahead of launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Image: NASA Update July 22, 2:30 p.m. EDT: The SpaceX launch director called an abort of the mission; targeting Wednesday, July 23. NASA’s next trip to space will be a rideshare mission with nine other satellites sharing a SpaceX…
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