March 10 (UPI) -- NASA and SpaceX late Monday said they were standing down the launch of the SPHEREx and PUNCH spacecraft missions due to unfavorable weather at the launch site and an issue with one of the spacecrafts.
The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket had targeted 11:10 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 4 East at California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.
However, the missions were called off and rescheduled for the same time Tuesday.
"NASA and SpaceX are standing down from today's launch attempt ... due to weather at the launch site and a SPHEREx ground data-flow issue," NASA said in a statement.
"Launch weather for Tuesday, March 11, is at 40% probability of violation with thick clouds continued in the forecast."
The SPHEREx and PUNCH spacecraft missions, once launched, will be tasked with creating a three-dimensional map of hundreds of millions of galaxies in order to better understand our known universe.
"We call this a ride share and it's a new strategy that SMD is working, where we can maximize the efficiency of launches by flying two payloads at once," Mark Clampin, acting deputy associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, stated during a pre-launch news conference. "So we maximize our science return," he added.
SPHEREx stands for the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer observatory mission. Four spacecraft comprise the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere mission, otherwise known as PUNCH.
The goal of the two NASA missions will be to create a three-dimensional map of more than 400 million galaxies "across cosmic time," according to James Fanson, the SPHEREx project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Clampin characterized the launch as "a real change in how we do business."
Meanwhile, SPHEREx is projected to separate from the Falcon 9 rocket roughly 42 minutes after liftoff. It will offer three opportunities for on-the-ground teams to establish a signal with the observatory as scientists look for a greater knowledge of universal origins and solar winds.
"The other thing I think is really important to understand is not only are we launching two missions at once, but these missions cover the full breadth of the science that NASA does every day," says Clampin.
"So, we're really excited by this launch," he continued.