SpaceX is launching NASA's Pandora exoplanet mission in 2026
SpaceX will launch NASA's Pandora satellite on January 11, 2026, as part of its Twilight rideshare—sharing the ride with about 40 other payloads.
Pandora is a small telescope set to spend a year checking out planets beyond our solar system.
How to catch the launch
The countdown starts at 5:19am PST (8:19am EST/1:19pm GMT) on January 11.
You can watch it live on SpaceX's website or X account about 15 minutes before liftoff.
After takeoff, the Falcon 9 booster will land back at Vandenberg just over eight minutes later.
What makes Pandora cool
Pandora will observe at least 20 exoplanets as they pass in front of their stars, measuring tiny dips in starlight and capturing visible and infrared data together.
This helps scientists figure out what these distant worlds' atmospheres are made of—especially those with water or hydrogen.