NASA has pushed back the launch of its Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft by several months due to issues with the primary payload. The mission, originally scheduled for spring 2025, now faces a no earlier than September launch.
The delay gives NASA additional time to prepare the IMAP flight systems prior to launch. The spacecraft will study the heliosphere and examine the solar wind from its vantage point at the Earth-sun L-1 Lagrange point, approximately 1.5 million kilometers away.
IMAP was initially set for a 2024 launch but has faced multiple delays since then. A NASA review in November 2023 pushed back the launch to April or May 2025. The delay now affects not only IMAP but also two other rideshare payloads: the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and Space Weather Follow-On.
NASA’s heliophysics division director, Joe Westlake, had previously described IMAP as a mission with dual objectives – exploring the heliosphere and local solar neighborhood, as well as monitoring solar weather to safeguard humanity.
Source: https://spacenews.com/nasa-delays-launch-of-heliophysics-missions