The launch date for the SPHEREx space telescope, jointly developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S., has been postponed by one day from its original schedule, which was Thursday.
NASA announced on Wednesday that SPHEREx will be launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 7:09 p.m. PST on Friday.
The postponement was decided after SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle, which will carry SPHEREx into orbit, required additional time for launch preparations.
Like the James Webb Space Telescope, SPHEREx employs infrared spectroscopic survey techniques. It aims to be the first in the world to attempt a full-sky observation. The mission is to create a three-dimensional space map, tracing galaxies back to the early stages of the Big Bang.
Once in its sun-synchronous orbit, SPHEREx is scheduled to observe the entire sky four times over two and a half years.