The Falcon 9 rocket rose from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center just after sunrise, carrying NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and NOAA’s Space Weather Follow‑On Lagrange 1 (SWFO‑L1) satellite. The carefully staged rideshare marks a rare confluence of science and operational missions designed to deepen understanding of the Sun‑Earth connection while strengthening practical defenses against space weather.

IMAP, the largest of the three, will travel to the Sun‑Earth Lagrange point 1, roughly 1.5 million kilometers sunward of Earth, where it will sample the flow of charged particles streaming from the Sun and the turbulent boundary where the heliosphere meets interstellar space. Scientists say the probe will produce the most detailed map yet of how energetic particles are accelerated and transported through the heliosphere, data that underpin models of radiation risks to astronauts and satellites. “IMAP will give us a global picture of particle acceleration in the space around Earth,” a NASA mission scientist said, adding that its measurements will help separate competing theories about cosmic‑ray origins.

Riding alongside IMAP, the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory will use ultraviolet imaging to map Earth’s geocorona, the faint envelope of hydrogen atoms that extends hundreds of thousands of kilometers into space. Although nearly invisible, the geocorona scatters solar ultraviolet light and interacts with the solar wind; mapping its shape and density will refine models used by both planetary scientists and those who track how Earth’s atmosphere exchanges particles with near‑space. “We’re finally able to see the edge of Earth’s atmosphere in a way no instrument has before,” a principal investigator said, emphasizing implications for both basic science and instrument calibration on other missions.

NOAA’s SWFO‑L1 is the operational component of the flight, positioned at L1 to act as an early warning sentinel. By measuring incoming solar wind and magnetic fields directly between Earth and the Sun, SWFO‑L1 will give forecasters additional lead time to predict geomagnetic storms that can disrupt power grids, navigation systems and satellite operations. “Improving lead time by even minutes can mean the difference between precautionary maneuvers and costly outages,” a NOAA official said.

The missions reflect an increasingly integrated approach to space weather: combining fundamental science, targeted observation and operational forecasting. NASA provides scientific context and experimental capability, while NOAA converts timely data into warnings for infrastructure and industry. Commercial launch services from SpaceX have made such coordinated deployments more economical and frequent, enabling agencies to place multiple payloads on a single rocket.

As controllers track the three spacecraft on their separate trajectories over the coming weeks and months, researchers will begin commissioning instruments and calibrating models. If all goes as planned, the combined datasets will sharpen predictions of solar storms and deepen knowledge of the heliosphere’s complex boundary — a dual payoff for science and societal resilience in an era increasingly dependent on space‑based technology.