Launch details
Falcon 9 Block 5 | SPHEREx & PUNCH
Launch details
Falcon 9 Block 5 | SPHEREx & PUNCH
Space Launch Complex 4E
Vandenberg Space Force Base
Feb 27 at 07:10pm
Launchpad time•-0800
Feb 28 at 03:10am
Your local time•+0000
Current status
Go for Launch
Falcon 9 Block 5
Launch vehicle
Get notification
24 hours before launch
Get notification
1 hour before launch
Note: For all launches the scheduled launch dates and times are subject to change due to weather, equipment, crew and other factors.
Mission description
SPHEREx is a planned two-year astrophysics mission to survey the sky in the near-infrared light, which, though not visible to the human eye, serves as a powerful tool for answering cosmic questions involving the birth of the universe, and the subsequent development of galaxies.
It also will search for water and organic molecules – essentials for life as we know it – in regions where stars are born from gas and dust, known as stellar nurseries, as well as disks around stars where new planets could be forming. Astronomers will use the mission to gather data on more than 300 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in our own Milky Way galaxy.
NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission will share a ride to space with SPHEREx. It consists of four suitcase-sized satellites, which will focus on the Sun’s outer atmosphere (the corona) and how it generates the solar wind. The spacecraft also will track coronal mass ejections – large eruptions of solar material that can drive large space weather events near Earth – to better understand their evolution and develop new techniques for predicting such eruptions.
— SPHEREx & PUNCH
Livestream
Attending a launch in person
Viewing from the launch site is restricted to military and base personnel.
Public locations around the base provide excellent views, depending on weather.
Surf Beach: Best option for all launchpads if the marine layer keeps west, otherwise you'll get a poor view. Fills up fast on launch day. Closed from March to September to protect local wildlife and in the other months it'll sometimes be closed depending on launch trajectory.

Corral Road: Good option for SLC-2. The semi-official viewing area. 8 kilometers away.
13th & W Ocean Ave: Good option for the southern pads. The hills and marine layer obstruct your view a bit but this is the closest you'll get, it's just outside the security checkpoint. There are a few other good intersections along W Ocean Ave (notably Renwick & W Ocean Ave).
Harris Grade Road: Alternative angle for all pads. It's up high on a hill and above the marine layer so you'll always have a view but it's much further away at 17 kilometers.
How to get there
Accomodation
Nearby hotels in Lompoc or Santa Maria.
Nearby parking
Parking available at the visitor center.
Agency details
SpaceX is a private aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded by Elon Musk. It aims to reduce space travel costs and enable Mars colonization. Known for the Falcon and Starship rockets, SpaceX has achieved milestones like reusable rocket landings, Dragon spacecraft missions to the ISS, and the first private crewed spaceflight.