Two NASA satellites rocketed into orbit from California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday, commencing a $170 million mission to study a phenomenon of space physics that has eluded researchers since the dawn of the Space Age.

Athena EPIC is poised to serve as a pathfinder for space startup NovaWurks and its sensorcraft architecture, demonstrating a more innovative method for placing remote sensing instruments into orbit faster and more affordably. This approach enables the opportunity to learn from commercial best practices and implement an “all-of-government” approach.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch from Vandenberg in California on a NASA mission. Where are some spots to watch liftoff? Will there be a sonic boom?

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Californians could catch a Starlink satellite launch from the Vandenberg Space Force Base.

SpaceX launched the third batch of satellites for Amazon's Project Kuiper broadband megaconstellation early on Wednesday morning (July 16). A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 24 Kuiper craft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday at 2:30 a.m. EDT (0630 GMT).