NASA plans to launch its SunRISE (Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment) mission in mid-2026 to study how the Sun’s magnetic field drives powerful solar radio bursts. The mission will ride aboard a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket, supported by the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command.
SunRISE will use six toaster-sized satellites operating together as a single radio telescope spanning about 10 kilometers. The constellation will detect low-frequency radio waves that cannot be observed from Earth, helping scientists trace how energy from solar eruptions accelerates charged particles into space.
Data gathered by the satellites will be transmitted through NASA’s Deep Space Network and combined using interferometry to create detailed radio maps of solar activity. The results are expected to improve forecasting of solar storms that can affect satellites, astronauts, and communications systems.
The mission complements ongoing heliophysics efforts such as the Parker Solar Probe and the Solar Orbiter, which study the Sun’s behavior from different perspectives. Together, these missions aim to build a more complete understanding of solar dynamics and their influence across the solar system.
Led by the University of Michigan, SunRISE is managed under NASA’s Explorers Program, with mission operations handled by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and spacecraft construction by Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory.
Source: NASA