NASA has selected SpaceX to launch StarBurst, a small satellite intended to investigate short gamma-ray bursts and neutron-star mergers.

In its 17 September announcement, the agency said the spacecraft would travel on a Falcon 9 rideshare mission from Florida no earlier than 2028. The award falls under NASA’s VADR launch-services framework.

The mission will combine its observations with other astronomical measurements to study powerful events through different kinds of signals.

Source: NASA · Source date: 2026-09-17.

File photo: 2016 Falcon 9 at Vandenberg Air Force Base.jpg — SpaceX. Wikimedia Commons original · CC0. Resized; cropped in cards. Representative image, not a photograph of the reported event.