Tracers Mission

Following the success of the TRACERS spacecraft launch, the Department of Physics and Astronomy faculty members are anticipating the development of the innovative Iowa Spaceflight Laboratory. The seventh floor of Van Allen Hall is undergoing a renovation–supported by $7.2 million in university funds and a $670,000 grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust–and will soon be home to the Iowa Spaceflight Laboratory. https://clas.uiowa.edu/news/2026/01/iowa-spaceflight-laboratory-allow-cutting-edge-space-exploration-clas-faculty-and

Christian Hansen's image of the TRACERS mission launch won first place in the faculty/staff/researcher category of the Capture Your Research! Photo Competition.

Sponsored by NEXUS | Artineers and the Lichtenberger Engineering Library at the University of Iowa, Capture Your Research! is an image competition where students, faculty, and staff submit one image that captures the essence of their research.
Hansen, an Aerospace Project Engineer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, shot video of the July 23, 2025 launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 that sent the Mission into orbit, capping off an eight-year effort from mission concept, design, build, test, and finally orbit. The launch streak photo titled "TRACERS, Dr. Craig Kletzing’s Legacy" is a composite image of thousands of video frames stacked together to produce one single streak that shows the rocket’s trajectory as it races towards low Earth orbit. The video was taken 12 miles away from the launch site and the rocket at the end of the streak is at an altitude of 36 miles.

The hosted its annual Halloween costume contest, and grad students Lillian Daneshmand and Olivia Jones were the twin TRACERS satellites. Lillian and Oliva took the prize for best grad student costume!

Two TRACERS photos are in the Capture Your Research People’s Choice 2025, an image competition that allows University of Iowa students, faculty, and staff to submit one image that captures the essence of their research.
Christian Hansen submitted a photo of the launch streak, and David Miles submitted a photo of the last look of the TRACERS satellites on Earth. Vote at https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/eng/events/capture-your-research/capture-your-research-2025/capture-your-research-peoples-choice-2025/

NASA Launches Mission to Study Earth’s Magnetic Shield - NASA NASA’s newest mission, TRACERS, soon will begin studying how Earth’s magnetic shield protects our planet from the effects of space weather. Short for Tandem

See the photos: The University of Iowa Department of Physics and Astronomy hosted a watch party for the TRACERS mission launch, a project led by the university. bit.ly/450avd9

Launch moved to July 23:

LAUNCH UPDATE as of 11:20 a.m. July 22: This launch has moved to its backup day. The 57-minute launch window opens at 11:13 a.m. PT on Wednesday, 23 July.
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Vandenberg SFB Guardians and Airmen are scheduled to support the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA's TRACERS mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) tomorrow, Tuesday, July 22.

The 57-minute launch window opens at 11:13 a.m. PT. If needed, a backup opportunity is available on Wednesday, July 23 at the same time.

Following stage separation, the first stage will land on Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

A live webcast will begin approximately 15 minutes before liftoff and can be viewed at https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=tracers on X , or through the new X TV app.

Also on board this mission is SEOPS’ Epic Athena, Skykraft’s Skykraft 4, Maverick Space Systems’ REAL, Tyvak’s LIDE, and York Space Systems’ Bard.

There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.

United States Space Force | Space Systems Command - SSC

It's almost here! NASA is targeting a launch of TRACERS on July 22!

NASA’s TRACERS Mission Targeting Launch on July 22 - NASA Science NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) spacecraft are targeting launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket during