VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- Vandenberg Space Force Base hosted a mission brief for NASA’s upcoming Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites mission on July 21. The event brought together attendees from Vandenberg SFB, NASA, the University of Iowa and the local community to discuss the TRACERS mission and its scientific goals.
Vandenberg SFB Guardians and U.S. Air Force Airmen are scheduled to support the launch of NASA's TRACERS mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East no earlier than July 22. TRACERS will be the second NASA mission launched from Vandenberg SFB in 2025, following the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer mission launched in March. Vandenberg SFB continues to help meet the space launch needs of the United States, propelling scientific and technological innovation while fulfilling the requirements for the Space Force and its mission partners.
NASA’s TRACERS mission will help researchers understand magnetic reconnection and its effects in Earth’s atmosphere. Magnetic reconnection occurs when activity from the sun interacts with Earth’s magnetic field. By understanding this process, scientists will be able to better understand and prepare for impacts of solar activity on Earth.
Editor’s note: The TRACERS mission launched on July 23, 2025, at 2:13 p.m. (EDT).