NASA and SpaceX successfully launched their SPHEREx and PUNCH missions into orbit Tuesday night from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, to "collect" data on the sun and millions of galaxies.

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.

SpaceX and NASA successfully launched two major missions to orbit in a liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday night.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

The postponement, driven primarily by thick clouds, was the second scrub of the flight since an issue with the rocket on Saturday night.

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,

NASA and SpaceX on Monday will launch of its SPHEREx and PUNCH spacecraft's in order to seek a better understanding of the known universe.

NASA launches SPHEREx to investigate the history of the universe NASA launches SPHEREx an observatory intended to improve the understanding of what occurred immediately after the Big Bang event that initiated the universe and to search our Milky Way galaxy for water and other essential ingredients for life.