The $488 million Spherex mission aims to explain how galaxies formed and evolved over billions of years, and how the universe expanded so fast in its first moments.

As the agency's SPHEREx space telescope and PUNCH solar mission rode toward their orbital stations at 10:09 p.m. EST (0209 March 9 GMT), members of mission control appeared elated, onlookers who caught a peek at the liftoff cheered, and the scientists who built these missions exuded a blend of relief and excitement.

Besides the telescope, SpaceX’s Falcon rocket provided a lift from Vandenberg Space Force Base for a quartet of Nasa satellites called Punch. From their own separate polar orbit, the satellites will observe the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, and the resulting solar wind.

A semi-frontal view of the SPHEREx observatory is seen during integration and testing at BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado, U.S., in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on February 24, 2025. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY (Reuters) - A NASA telescope was launched into space from California on Tuesday for a mission to explore the origins of the universe and to scour the Milky Way galaxy for hidden reservoirs of water,