NASA moves SunRISE satellite launch to SpaceX Falcon Heavy

NASA has reassigned its SunRISE (Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment) mission from a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. The six small satellites were originally slated for a Vulcan launch, but a repeat booster anomaly on the U.S. Space Force’s USSF‑87 mission prompted the Space Systems Command to pause national‑security launches on Vulcan while reliability issues are addressed. As a result, SunRISE will ride as a secondary payload on a Falcon Heavy later this year. The mission will monitor solar radio bursts that precede energetic particle arrivals during solar storms, providing data to improve space‑weather prediction models and help protect satellite and communications infrastructure from storm‑induced disruptions.