NASA targets SunRISE launch no earlier than mid-2027

Spacecraft storage and launch timing

On 6 October, NASA updated SunRISE’s launch target to no earlier than mid-2027. Its six satellites have completed testing at Space Dynamics Laboratory and remain in storage before shipment to Florida. They are planned to launch on Falcon Heavy with a US Space Force payload. NASA had reported completed testing on 20 January 2026.

Each spacecraft is roughly toaster-oven-sized. Flying in formation slightly above geosynchronous orbit, the six satellites are designed to act as one large radio dish. They will track radio bursts from the Sun’s corona that arrive before the associated streams of energetic particles reach Earth’s neighborhood.

Measuring solar events

SunRISE measurements are intended to study powerful solar events and assess associated risks to satellites and astronauts. Scientific operations will follow launch and spacecraft commissioning.