NASA has chosen a SpaceX rocket to launch a satellite to study space.
The spacecraft will use a Falcon 9 rocket to propel their spacecraft into orbit as early as June 2024 from Space Launch Complex-4E at the Vandenberg Air Force Base.
As well as bringing more activity to Vandenberg, the launch will help fill local hotels and restaurants with crew members working on rocket and satellite programs in the weeks leading up to the explosion and with visitors closer to construction.
The craft, Spectro-Photometer known for Earth History, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, or SPHEREx, is planned as a two-year astrophysics mission to study the skies in near-infrared light. .
Near-infrared light, while not visible to the human eye, can be a powerful tool for answering cosmic questions including the birth of the universe, and the subsequent development of galaxies, officials said NASA.
“It also detects water and organic molecules – essential for life as we know it – in areas where stars are born of gas and dust, known as stellar nurseries, as well as surrounding discs. stars where new planets could form, ”NASA said in a statement.
“Astronauts use the mission to collect data on more than 300 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in our very own Galaxy Milky Way. ”
The total cost for NASA to launch SPHEREx is about $ 98.8 million, which includes the launch service and other mission-related costs, according to the space agency.
In addition to other positions for NASA centers in Florida, Maryland and Washington, DC, NASA’s Jet Dedication Laboratory in Pasadena is responsible for overall mission project management, systems engineering, integration, and mission testing and work.
– Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at . (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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