SpaceX just sent three space weather probes to the final frontier.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida today (Sept. 24) at 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT), carrying NASA's IMAP mission and and two other spacecraft.

Each probe has its own objectives, but all three will work toward the same larger goal: help scientists better understand space weather and its effects on Earth.

They're also all headed to the same place — the sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1, a gravitationally stable spot about 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth, in the direction of our star.

IMAP (short for "Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe") is the primary payload on today's flight. The roughly $600 million spacecraft carries 10 different science instruments, which it will use to monitor solar activity as well as study interstellar dust and the solar wind, the stream of charged particles flowing continuously from our sun.

The mission's data will also help scientists map the outer boundary of the heliosphere, the vast bubble around our solar system that's dominated by the sun's solar wind and magnetic field.

IMAP will also provide radiation warnings for astronauts — for example, those with NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustained human presence on and around the moon over the next decade or so.

"Radiation exposure is a real threat to our astronauts traveling to the moon and beyond," Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said during a news conference on Sunday (Sept. 21).

"Humanity has only ever existed inside our protective magnetosphere, and as we travel beyond that protective shield, whether it be to the moon or to Mars, the actionable information from missions like IMAP will keep our astronauts safe," she added.

The other two spacecraft that went up today are NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory (CGO) and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Follow-on (SWFO-L1) spacecraft.

CGO will investigate the exosphere, the wispy outermost reaches of Earth's atmosphere. The small satellite "will image the faint glow of ultraviolet light from this region, called the geocorona, to better understand how space weather impacts our planet," NASA officials said in a mission description. "The Carruthers mission continues the legacy of the Apollo era, expanding on measurements first taken during Apollo 16."

SWFO-L1 will track solar storms, providing an early warning system for space weather, which can pose a threat to satellites, astronauts in orbit and some infrastructure on the ground, such as power grids.

All went according to plan on today's launch. The Falcon 9's upper stage deployed IMAP into an interplanetary transfer orbit about 84 minutes after launch. SWFO-L1 and CGO followed suit about 6.5 minutes and 13 minutes after that, respectively.

And the rocket's first stage came back to Earth on schedule, landing a little less than nine minutes after liftoff on the SpaceX droneship "Just Read the Instructions," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the second flight for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.

Today's launch was the 120th Falcon 9 flight of 2025 already. Most of these missions — more than 70% of them — have been dedicated to building out SpaceX's Starlink satellite-internet constellation in low Earth orbit.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 10:55 a.m. ET on Sept. 24 with news of successful spacecraft deployment.

SpaceX will launch NASA's ambitious IMAP mission and two other space weather probes early Wednesday morning (Sept. 24), and you can watch the action live.

A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT), carrying IMAP and two rideshare spacecraft deep into the final frontier.

You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency. Coverage is expected to will begin around 6:40 a.m. EDT (1040 GMT).

The primary payload is IMAP, whose name is short for "Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe."

IMAP "will study how the sun's energy and particles interact with the heliosphere — an enormous protective bubble of space around our solar system — to enhance our understanding of space weather, cosmic radiation, and their impacts on Earth and human and robotic space explorers," NASA officials wrote in a mission description.

Launching with IMAP are NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory (CGO) and the Space Weather Follow-on (SWFO-L1) spacecraft, which will be operated by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

CGO will study Earth's exosphere — the atmosphere's wispiest outer reaches — to help scientists better understand how space weather affects our planet. SWFO-L1 will monitor and track solar storms, "serving as an early warning beacon for potentially disruptive space weather, helping safeguard Earth’s critical infrastructure and technological-dependent industries," NASA officials wrote in the mission description.

The trio will do this work at the Earth-sun Lagrange Point-1 (L1), a gravitationally stable spot that lies 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from our planet. Several other spacecraft operate at L1, including India's Aditya-L1 solar probe and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint effort of NASA and the European Space Agency.

If all goes according to plan on Wednesday, the Falcon 9's upper stage will deploy IMAP, CGO and SWFO-L1 into interplanetary transfer orbit during a 13-minute stretch that begins about 83 minutes after liftoff. The three spacecraft will then make their way out to L1.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sept. 22 with the new target launch date of Sept. 24.

SpaceX is preparing to launch three spacecraft on a first-of-its-kind mission to study the sun's influence throughout the solar system, from Earth's atmosphere to the edge of interstellar space.

A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex-39A, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Sept. 23 at 7:32 a.m. EDT (1132 GMT). Stowed inside Falcon's payload fairing are NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), the Space Weather Follow-on (SWFO-L1) spacecraft from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory.

The satellite trio is bound for the Earth-sun Lagrange Point-1 (L1), an orbitally stable location in permanent sunlight that lies 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. Though each mission has its own distinct objectives, their combined science is designed to build a more complete picture of the Earth-sun relationship.

IMAP is the first spacecraft dedicated to mapping the outer boundary of the heliosphere, the vast magnetic bubble surrounding our solar system that's formed by the solar wind. The satellite's 10 instruments, built by teams across the U.S. and with contributions from 27 international partners, will measure solar wind, interstellar dust and charged particles, while also providing continuous solar weather monitoring.

IMAP and its companions will be the first spacecraft to observe solar activity from their L1 vantage point, and are designed to offer between 30 minutes to an hour of advanced warning of dangerous radiation storms headed for Earth.

This is particularly important for astronaut missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO), which won't enjoy much radiation protection from Earth's magnetosphere. And NASA aims to launch two such missions soon — the Artemis 2 flight around the moon in 2026 and Artemis 3 lunar landing mission in 2027.

"IMAP will provide warnings beginning with Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 of incoming harmful radiation storms faster than any other spacecraft has done before," Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, told reporters during a press conference on Sept. 4.

David McComas, principal investigator for the mission, said IMAP data "will help us better understand the fundamental physics of the heliosphere" and how it shields Earth and spacefarers from cosmic rays.

Riding alongside IMAP, NOAA's SWFO-L1 will serve as a dedicated solar alert system, monitoring space weather and energetic particles in real time. Its data will feed directly into NOAA's forecasting models to help safeguard satellites, communications systems and power grids from geomagnetic storms.

NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory — previously known as the Global Lyman-alpha Imagers of the Dynamic Exosphere (GLIDE) — is tasked with studying Earth's exosphere, a thin atmospheric layer that extends nearly halfway to the moon.

"We actually don't know exactly how big it is," said University of Illinois scientist Lara Waldrop, the mission's principal investigator. "We don't know whether it's spherical or oval, how much it changes over time, or even the density of its constituent hydrogen atoms."

Waldrop said what we do know is that the exosphere plays a critical role in Earth's response to geomagnetic storms. L1 sits outside the exosphere, providing mission operators a rare chance to measure it from the outside.

Findings will also improve scientists' understanding of how atomic hydrogen escapes Earth's gravity and inform models of planetary evolution in the search for habitable exoplanets.

India's first solar observatory has made a trajectory correction maneuver to ensure it is on course for a special point in space to observe the sun.

India launched Aditya-L1 on Sept. 2, sending the spacecraft on a 110-day voyage to an area in space around 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. Aditya-L1 is planned to settle into a halo orbit around Earth-sun Lagrange point 1, a gravitationally stable area from which the spacecraft will have an uninterrupted view of the sun.

"A Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM), originally provisioned, was performed on October 6, 2023, for about 16 seconds," according to the India Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) X social media account. 

Related: India's Aditya-L1 solar probe takes an epic selfie with Earth and moon (photos, video)

ISRO previously wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sept. 30 that Aditya-L1 had successfully escaped the Earth’s sphere of influence. The TCM, which is a standard procedure for deep space missions, was executed to fine tune the spacecraft’s orbit.

"It was needed to correct the trajectory evaluated after tracking the Trans-Lagrangean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) maneuver performed on September 19, 2023," ISRO wrote.

Aditya-L1 carries seven payloads for its five-year-long mission to study the sun. It is the second time India as sent a spacecraft beyond the Earth’s sphere of influence, the first being the the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which launched in October 2013 and arrived in orbit around the Red Planet in 2014.

"Aditya" means "the sun" in Sanskrit, while the mission's L1 suffix comes from the location from which it will operate. 

Project DSCOVR

The Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite, or DSCOVR, will hover 1 million miles from Earth at Lagrange point 1 to track space weather and study the Earth. See photos from the mission here.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Soft Landing on Water

On Feb. 11, 2015, Elon Musk of SpaceX tweeted this photo of the Falcon 9 first stage making a soft landing on the Atlantic Ocean. The rocket-mounted camera is facing down towards the water. [Read full story.]

Falcon 9 Carrying DSCOVR to L1

On Feb. 11, 2015, Elon Musk of SpaceX tweeted this photo, showing the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage carrying the DSCOVR satellite to its parking orbit. The Earth shines in the background. [Read full story.]

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches into space from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Feb. 11, 2015 on a mission to send the Deep Space Climate Observatory on a million-mile trek to Lagrange point 1. [Read full story.]

DSCOVR Launch Start

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the DSCOVR satellite from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Feb. 11, 2015. [Read full story.]

DSCOVR Launch

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the DSCOVR satellite from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Feb. 11, 2015. [Read full story.]

DSCOVR Launch #2

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the DSCOVR satellite from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Feb. 11, 2015. [Read full story.]

DSCOVR Launch #3

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the DSCOVR satellite from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Feb. 11, 2015. [Read full story.]

DSCOVR Launch with Countdown Clock

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft (DSCOVR) climbs into the sky over NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as the countdown clock shows 30 seconds have elapsed in the flight on Feb. 11, 2015.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket, DSCOVR

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and the DSCOVR space-weather satellite on the launch pad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Launch is scheduled for the evening of Feb. 11, 2015. [Read full story.]

DSCOVR Prepared for Launch by Workers

On Jan. 18, 2015, preparations to launch NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft (DSCOVR) approach finalization at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center.

DISCOVR Solar Array Test

Engineers conduct solar array tests on the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite ahead of its Feb. 8, 2015 launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Landing Legs

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket equipped with landing legs is seen in this image from the private spaceflight company's website. SpaceX will attempt to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on an ocean platform on Feb. 8, 2015 after launching the Deep Space Climate Observatory, a space weather satellite, for NASA and NOAA.

SpaceX Rocket Landing Test for Feb. 8, 2015

SpaceX will attempt to land a Falcon 9 rocket on it drone ship Just Read The Instructions on Feb. 8, 2015 as part of a reusable rocket technology test. The drone ship is named after the sentient colony ship in the science fiction novels by author Iain M. Banks.

5 Lagrange Points Diagram

This diagram shows the 5 Lagrange Points associated with the sun-Earth system. In this image, NASA's WMAP orbits around L2. Image not to scale.

L1 Orbit Diagram

This diagram shows where DSCOVR satellite will orbit in the sun-Earth system, at the L1 Lagrange Point.

DSCOVR Satellite Rendering

An artist's rendering shows the DSCOVR satellite, scheduled to launch on Feb. 8, 2015.

Instruments of the DSCOVR Mission

The DSCOVR mission carries three instruments to help measure the solar wind on (L to R), the Faraday cup to monitor the speed and direction of positively-charged solar wind particles, the electron spectrometer to monitor electrons, and a magnetometer to measure magnetic fields. Image released Feb. 6, 2015.

DSCOVR Prepared for Launch

NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft (DSCOVR) approaches the completion of preparations for launch at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 18, 2015.

Light Test on DSCOVR Spaecraft

On Nov. 24, 2014, workers conduct a light test on the solar arrays on NOAA's Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft, or DSCOVR, at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center.

DSCOVR Light Test

On Nov. 24, 2014, a light test was conducted on the solar arrays on NOAA's Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft, or DSCOVR, at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center.

Unwrapping DSCOVR

On Nov. 20, 2014, workers detach the plastic cover from NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft (DSCOVR) at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center.

DSCOVR Transported

On Nov. 20, 2014, NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft (DSCOVR), enclosed in a protective shipping container, arrives by truck at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center.

Mothballed Satellite Sits in Warehouse, Waits for New Life

The DSCOVR spacecraft was delayed for years.