Apple News News 23 September 2025 - 15 January 2026

January 20, 2026, 9:50 PM EST. Six SmallSats of NASA's SunRISE mission completed a rigorous readiness campaign at Utah State University's Space Dynamics Laboratory. The tests covered thermal vacuum environments, electromagnetic compatibility screening and vibration profiles to emulate launch. Each spacecraft was loaded with propellant to match launch mass and subjected to three-axis shaking. The mission will launch as a rideshare from Cape Canaveral aboard a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket, sponsored by the U.S. Space Force. After deployment, the four 2.5-meter booms will form an X configuration and sails in formation up to 16 kilometers apart, creating a single interferometric radio telescope. Through the Deep Space Network, scientists will map the Sun's magnetic field and detect solar radio bursts as they propagate into interplanetary space.