NASA to Launch This Month Three Spacecraft That Could Save Your Next Flight or Bank Transfer

When you check the weather app before leaving home, get directions from Google Maps, or transfer money online, you are relying on satellites quietly orbiting above Earth.

But those satellites face a constant threat from the Sun. Solar storms, massive bursts of charged particles, can knock out GPS, disrupt flights, cut power grids and even scramble internet connections.

That is why NASA, working with NOAA, is preparing to launch three new space weather missions on 23 September 2025 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and the Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) will work together to monitor the Sun and provide early warnings when trouble is on the way.

By orbiting nearly a million miles from Earth at a spot called Lagrange Point 1, these spacecraft will have a clear view of the solar winds and storms headed our way. The goal is simple but vital: protect the technology that underpins daily life.

Without these safeguards, the ripple effects of a strong solar storm could be felt everywhere, from delayed flights and blacked-out cities to failed online payments and lost navigation signals.

For parents driving their kids to school, small business owners processing digital sales, or families streaming TV in the evening, the reliability of those everyday moments depends on the unseen work of satellites—and now, on the missions NASA is sending into space.

NASA's Space Weather Missions: What They Are and Why They Matter

According to NASA, IMAP will study how solar wind and cosmic particles interact with the heliosphere, the protective bubble surrounding our solar system. By tracking solar energetic particles and cosmic radiation, IMAP will give scientists crucial data on how storms move and how they might impact life on Earth.

The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, a small satellite, will focus on Earth's outermost atmospheric layer, the geocorona. It will image faint ultraviolet light to show how this fragile boundary reacts when the Sun lashes out.

The SWFO-L1 mission, run by NOAA, will serve as an early warning beacon. It will monitor the Sun in real time, alerting power grid operators, airlines and satellite controllers when dangerous solar activity is heading our way.

When Solar Storms Hit: Lessons From the Past

The risks are not hypothetical. History has shown just how disruptive solar storms can be.

• 1859 – The Carrington Event: A powerful storm caused telegraph lines across Europe and North America to spark and fail, some even shocking operators. Auroras lit up skies as far south as the Caribbean.
• 1989 – Quebec Blackout: A solar storm knocked out power to six million people in Canada, plunging Quebec into darkness for nine hours and causing widespread economic losses.
• 2003 – The Halloween Storms: These storms forced airlines to reroute flights, disrupted satellites, and even damaged transformers in South Africa's power grid.

In a world now dominated by internet banking, GPS navigation, online learning, and global communications, a similar storm today could grind daily life to a halt.

Human Impacts: Who's on the Line?

The consequences of space weather touch people far beyond research labs. Airline pilots depend on reliable navigation systems to keep passengers safe. Farmers look to satellite weather data to make planting decisions that affect entire harvests. Astronauts need real-time alerts to shield themselves from dangerous radiation in space.

And for ordinary people, it's about more than just convenience. A major storm could mean not being able to pay for groceries electronically, losing access to phone networks, or seeing flights cancelled without warning.

The Silent Shield

NASA describes these missions as part of a protective shield for modern society. By working together, IMAP, Carruthers and SWFO-L1 will help ensure that when the Sun erupts, Earth's systems are ready.

SWFO-L1 will deliver early warnings, Carruthers will reveal how our atmosphere responds, and IMAP will deepen understanding of the Sun's particles and their journey through space.

For most of us, life's daily rhythm relies on signals we cannot see—beaming from satellites, carried through power lines, and dependent on stable skies above.

These missions are designed to keep those signals flowing. If successful, they will give humanity something priceless: time to prepare before the next solar storm strikes.