NASA Moves Heliosphere Mapping Spacecraft for Fueling
Technicians conduct blanket closeout work on NASA's IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. IMAP will explore and map the boundaries of the heliosphere -- a huge bubble created by the Sun's wind that encapsulates our entire solar system -- and study how the heliosphere interacts with the local galactic neighborhood beyond. NASA/Kim Shiflett
Technicians continue preparing NASA's IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) mission for its upcoming launch. The team moved the observatory to the clean room where they loaded propellant into the spacecraft at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Technicians loaded more than 317 pounds (or 144 kilograms) of hydrazine into three tanks on the observatory on Aug. 18. The IMAP spacecraft's propulsion system enables the attitude control system to repoint the spacecraft, adjust its spin rate, correct its trajectory, insert it into orbit at Lagrange point 1 - which is about a million miles from Earth toward the Sun - and perform corrective maneuvers as needed to maintain its position throughout its mission.
NASA's IMAP will explore and map the boundaries of the heliosphere -- a huge bubble created by the Sun's wind that encapsulates our entire solar system -- and study how the heliosphere interacts with the local galactic neighborhood beyond. The IMAP mission will also advance our understanding of how solar particles are accelerated to high energies. Additionally, IMAP can supply to scientists near real-time observations of the solar wind and energetic particles, which can produce hazardous conditions in the space environment near Earth.
Recently, technicians tested IMAP's 10 science instruments. All have been packaged and stowed in preparation for launch.
In addition to IMAP, workers also have loaded propellant into the observatory's two rideshares, NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On L1 satellite.
All three spacecraft will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than September from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
Technicians transport NASA's IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory to Building 2 where they will load 317 pounds (or 144 kilograms) of hydrazine into three tanks into the spacecraft at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. IMAP will explore and map the boundaries of the heliosphere -- a huge bubble created by the Sun's wind that encapsulates our entire solar system -- and study how the heliosphere interacts with the local galactic neighborhood beyond. NASA/Leejay Lockhart
Elyna Niles-Carnes
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