BROOMFIELD, Colo., January 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — BAE Systems (LON:) (LON: BA) was successfully delivered NASA’s Spectro-photometer for the history of the universe, Epoch of reionization and Ices Explorer Observatory (SPHEREx). to Vandenberg Space Force Base California. The launch of the observatory is planned for the end of February NASA’s Polarimeter for Unifying the Corona and Heliospheric Mission (PUNCH) on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The at least two-year mission will conduct the first spectral surveys of the entire sky and collect valuable data that will help answer fundamental questions about the universe.
SPHEREx observatory will create 3D color maps of more than 450 million galaxies and millions Milky Way stars.
SPHEREx will use an advanced imager developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for viewing the entire sky in near-infrared light. During four planned surveys, the observatory will create 3D color maps of more than 450 million galaxies and millions of stars in Milky Way. This data will provide the scientific community with new insights into the formation of the universe in the moments after the Big Bang, help determine how galaxies evolve over time, and search for water and other life-sustaining molecules in planet-forming regions.
“The development of SPHERex represents an extraordinary joint effort between BAE SystemsJPL, Caltechand to numerous other institutions that helped this revolutionary mission come true,” he said Brian PramannSPHEREx program manager for BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems. “After years of complex design, manufacturing, integration and testing, our team can’t wait to launch SPHEREx.”
In addition to its fundamental science goals, SPHEREx will also identify targets of interest for follow-up studies by observatories such as the James Webb Space Telescope.
BAE Systems also built the spacecraft bus and telescope for the observatory, in addition to leading spacecraft integration and environmental testing for the mission. The company will also support the launch and commissioning operations of the spacecraft. Caltech’s dr. Jamie Bock is the chief investigator of the mission.
BAE Systems proudly continues its long-standing support NASA’s astrophysical missions, including work on the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatorythe James Webb Space Telescope and the Nancy Grace Rome Space Telescope, among others.
For more information, contact:
Sawyer D’Argonne, BAE Systems
Cell: 303-250-6031
sawyer.dargonne@baesystems.us
www.baesystems.com/US
@BAESystemsInc
