Cape Canaveral, Florida — A group of space weather satellites lifted off Wednesday morning to closely observe solar storms that can produce dazzling auroras but also disrupt communications and threaten astronauts in flight. The three satellites soared from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center shortly after sunrise aboard a SpaceX rocket. Their destination: a solar orbit observation post 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) from Earth, each with its own mission.

In November 2024 and again in March of this year, two researchers from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) witnessed the launch of their experiments to the International Space Station (ISS). Now, after the thrill of that milestone, they are celebrating a new wave of satisfaction with the successful return of both projects back to Earth.