As the agency's SPHEREx space telescope and PUNCH solar mission rode toward their orbital stations at 10:09 p.m. EST (0209 March 9 GMT), members of mission control appeared elated, onlookers who caught a peek at the liftoff cheered, and the scientists who built these missions exuded a blend of relief and excitement.

A NASA telescope was launched into space from California on Tuesday for a mission to explore the origins of the universe and to scour the Milky Way galaxy for hidden reservoirs of water, a key ingredient for life.

The SPHEREx telescope will create the most colorful map of the cosmos, while the four satellites of the PUNCH mission track the evolution of the solar wind in three dimensions.

NASA and SpaceX successfully launched their SPHEREx and PUNCH missions into orbit Tuesday night from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, to "collect" data on the sun and millions of galaxies.

The postponement, driven primarily by thick clouds, was the second scrub of the flight since an issue with the rocket on Saturday night.

After more than a week of delays, two new NASA missions have gotten the greenlight to head to space tonight (March 8).

Watch live as NASA launches the SPHEREx telescope and PUNCH mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to explore the universe and the sun. SPHEREx will create a 3D all-sky map of 450 million galaxies, while PUNCH will use small satellites to study the sun’s impact on space weather and Earth’s communications.

The spacecraft, SPHEREx and PUNCH, had been expected to launch on a SpaceX rocket on Saturday. Two NASA missions will have to wait longer for a launch aboard a single rocket. Both aim to unravel mysteries about the universe — one by peering far from Earth,