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Here's how it works. 1. Home 2. News 3. Spaceflight SpaceX rocket launches Euclid space telescope to map the 'dark universe' like never before (video) By Elizabeth Howell last updated 1 July 2023 The European spacecraft will spend six years uncovering the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy. * * * * * * * Comments (0) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A SpaceX rocket launched a new space telescope into orbit Saturday (July 1) on a mission to map the "dark universe" like never before. The European Space Agency observatory, called Euclid, soared to space today aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 11:11 a.m. EDT (1511 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 here at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Spectators here at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex cheered and applauded as the Falcon 9 booster carried Euclid aloft, with the first stage handily touching down just eight minutes later on a drone ship stationed nearby in the Atlantic Ocean. "We have a mission," ESA Director-General Josef Aschbacher said during a live webcast just after liftoff. "I'm so excited for this mission now, knowing its on its way to Lagrange point 2 ... amazing, I'm very happy and very thrilled." "I'm totally addicted, a launch junkie," joked Nicola Fox, NASA's associate administrator for science, at a press conference here after the launch Saturday (July 1). "It's just the most exciting day where you realize all the work, all the teams, all the thousands of people that put their life into this mission and for them to see that take flight today." The Euclid space observatory, which is designed to seek out invisible dark matter and dark energy, separated from its rocket about 41 minutes after liftoff and is now making the journey to the sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, which is roughly 1 million miles (1.5 million km) away from our planet on the opposite side of the sun. Lagrange points are relatively stable orbits where satellites use a minimum of fuel, and Euclid's destination is a popular location: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope also orbits at L2, for example. Related: We've never seen dark matter and dark energy. Does it really exist? Unveiling the 'dark universe' A SpaceX white and black rocket launches into a blue sky A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Euclid space observatory for the European Space Agency lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on July 1, 2023. (Image credit: SpaceX) Dark matter and dark energy are believed to make up most of the universe, but we can't see these phenomena in wavelengths of light. Rather, we can track the dark universe through its effects on other objects. (Gravitational lensing is one example, when a massive object bends the light of a distant object behind through the force of gravity, bringing otherwise faraway stars or galaxies into sharp focus.) Cosmologists -- scientists studying the history of space -- seek to understand how the dark universe behaves to chart the effects of time on our cosmos. The mergers of galaxies, the expansion of the universe and the movements of individual stars are all subject to the forces of dark energy and dark matter. Carole Mundell, ESA's director of science, added at the press conference that one of her priorities is making sure there is a robust data archive that will last even beyond Euclid's six years of gathering science. Calling herself a "custodian" as she has just taken on the director role, she said she would rather pass any baton of congratulations "to all of our science communities who now will work very hard to commission this mission." Euclid will aim its telescope eye to regions outside of the Milky Way , our own galaxy, to map over a third of the "extragalactic" sky. In its six-year mission, the deep space explorer will map billions of targets like galaxies and stars. Euclid's two instruments, focusing respectively on visible and infrared (heat-seeking) light wavelengths, will record the information for scientists. The long survey mission will uncover the movements of these distant objects, along with their chemical makeup. From space, Euclid's sharp eyes will allow for images at least four times more clear than what telescopes achieve from the ground, given the spacecraft will be far away from Earth's interfering atmosphere and stray light. Carole Mundell, ESA's director of science, said the Euclid mission is one 15 years in the making, but still she was holding her breath waiting for signal acquisition after a prefect launch and spacecraft separation. "In the next six years of this mission, we will unravel the mysteries of the dark universe," Mundell said. "So, a huge honor to be here. I think there'll be some partying tonight." Related: The Euclid spacecraft will transform how we view the 'dark universe' illustration of a spacecraft in deep space wiht the milky way at upper left and distant galaxies in the background An artist's illustration of Euclid operating in space. (Image credit: Work performed by ATG under contract for ESA, CC BY-SA) The 1.4 billion Euro ($1.5 billion USD) Euclid has been in the works for nearly two decades. It was forged from two mission concepts proposed in 2007: Dune (Dark Universe Explorer) and Space (Spectroscopic All Sky Cosmic Explorer), which used different but complementing ways of looking at dark energy. Given how well the two missions worked with each other, they were combined into one powerful observatory: Euclid. The European Space Agency's (ESA) science program committee selected Euclid for space in 2011 and formally adopted the program in 2012. The larger Euclid consortium today includes more than 2,000 scientists from Europe, the U.S. (including NASA), Canada and Japan contributing both instruments and analysis. Thales Alenia Space was the satellite's prime contractor, while Airbus Defence and Space contributed the payload module and 4-foot (1.2-meter) telescope. A soot-covered SpaceX white and black rocket standing on top of a landing platform in the ocean The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster that launched the Euclid space telescope for the European Space Agency stands atop its drone ship after a successful landing in the Atlantic Ocean. (Image credit: SpaceX) Euclid's work follows on from several ground-based and space-based surveys of the universe. Among them is the Chilean Victor M. Blanco telescope's Dark Energy Survey that mapped 100 million galaxies; a 2022 study of that team's work will serve as a pathfinder both for Euclid and for NASA's Roman Space Telescope. ESA's still-active Gaia satellite (also at Lagrange Point 2) is another recent example, having mapped the movements of nearly 2 billion bright stars since 2015. Gaia, however, focuses on the Milky Way and that will make it a complementary mission to Euclid's deep space focus. A rocket swap for Euclid a silver and gold space telescope floats away into space from a SpaceX rocket The Euclid space telescope drifts away from its SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket after successfully reaching orbit after a July 1 launch. (Image credit: SpaceX) RELATED STORIES: -- Euclid mission: ESA's hunt for dark matter and dark energy -- This single mission could solve 2 of the biggest mysteries of the universe -- The Euclid spacecraft will transform how we view the 'dark universe' Incidentally, Euclid was not supposed to launch aboard SpaceX at all. As late as February 2022, the mission was manifested upon an Arianespace Soyuz (provided by Russia) for a March 2023 launch in French Guiana. Russia's unsanctioned invasion of Ukraine forced a stop to most such space collaborations aside from the International Space Station, pushing Euclid's team to look for another ride to space. Arianespace has been ESA's launch partner for decades and as a French vendor, it is the preferred route for European space access. Yet there was no room left on the retiring Ariane 5 rocket line, and the new Ariane 6 was still in a late stage of development, reported SpaceNews, which was at the meeting. Even U.S. options were few, as United Launch Alliance's trusty Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy rockets also had full manifests ahead of their retirement. ULA's new Vulcan Centaur will not fly until this year at least, leaving SpaceX as the only viable short-term option, according to ESA comments last year. To get to its new site, Euclid made its way from Italy to its Floridian launch site under sail. It took roughly two weeks to voyage across the Atlantic by boat, yet just minutes to cross that same ocean again in the air by rocket. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched Euclid made its second flight to space with this launch. The mission marked SpaceX's 44th mission of 2023 and 243rd mission to date. It was the also the 204th successful landing of an orbital class rocket by SpaceX. Euclid will take about 30 days to commute to its deep-space site. Investigators have not yet released the date for the first science image, but say it will be in a few months. This story was updated at 2:08 p.m. EDT with information from the post-launch press conference. Elizabeth Howell's Florida coverage was co-sponsored by Canadian Geographic magazine and Canada's University of Waterloo, where Euclid's primary science coordinator (Will Percival) is based. Space.com has independent control of news coverage. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. Get the Space.com Newsletter Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! [ ][ ]Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands[ ]Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors[Sign me up] By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Elizabeth Howell Elizabeth Howell Social Links Navigation Staff Writer, Spaceflight Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace More about spaceflight NASA's Perseverance rover can be seen in the background, while rocks and red Martian soil take up the rest of the image Mars helicopter Ingenuity phones home, breaking 63-day silence illustration of a spacecraft with milky way in behind and galaxies to the right Europe's 'dark universe' Euclid spacecraft ready for July 1 SpaceX launch Latest Euclid is set to launch this year on a rocket built by SpaceX. Who is the Euclid 'dark universe' space telescope named after? See more latest > See all comments (0) [ ] No comments yet Comment from the forums Most Popular [missing-im]Rare streaks of light above US are a sign that solar maximum is fast approaching By Harry BakerJune 30, 2023 [missing-im]Can you see the cosmic 'cat' grinning into one of the world's largest telescopes in this photo? 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