Photos: University of Iowa hosts TRACERS launch watch party

University of Iowa postdoctoral student Shirsh Soni reacts as the TRACERS space crafts launch successfully during a watch party at Van Allen Hall in Iowa City on Wednesday. Soni works on TRACERS and is a research fellow studying the field of solar physics. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Richard Carlson of Coralville and his grandson Archie McLaughlin, 6, of North Liberty sign a TRACERS space craft cardboard costume during the TRACERS launch watch party at Van Allen Hall in Iowa City on Wednesday. A large crowd gathered at Van Allen hall for the second day to watch the launch after the first one was aborted due to an aircraft flying into the launch airspace. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Graduate student Olivia Jones raises her hand when asked who worked on the TRACERS mission during the first watch party at Van Allen Hall in Iowa City on Tuesday. Jones said she was excited to see the launch, but also nervous because a lot of research depends on it being successful. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

A crowd gathers for the TRACERS mission launch watch party at Van Allen Hall in Iowa City on Tuesday. The twin satellites that the University of Iowa has been building launched on Wednesday after an aborted launch on Tuesday. The University of Iowa landed $115 million from NASA to research how solar winds interact with Earth’s magnetic field. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Physics and Astronomy Cornelia Lang, PhD talks about the upcoming launch to a room full of people during the TRACERS launch watch party at Van Allen Hall in Iowa City on Tuesday. The space craft was launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

An Astronomy and Physics staff members watches a live stream of the satellites after lifting off during the TRACERS launch watch party at Van Allen Hall in Iowa City on Wednesday. The first few weeks will be critical for the mission as the satellites begin collecting data about solar winds interacting with Earth’s magnetic field. This research will be available for researchers around the world to utilize. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Graduate student Olivia Jones smiles as graduate student Brendan Powers, left, signs the cardboard TRACERS satellite costume she made during the launch watch party at Van Allen Hall in Iowa City on Wednesday. An original launch date of 07/22/25 is crossed out after the first launch was aborted due to an aircraft flying into the launch airspace. Jones and Powers both worked on the TRACERS project. The twin satellites were launched into space and will begin collecting data on how solar wind interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field. The satellites will “chase” each other to help view and verify data to see if things are changing. The satellites will circle the globe in 90 minutes. While the crafts will cross all latitudes, the polar orbits are the most important areas to focus on. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

University of Iowa Physics and Astronomy Director of Graduate Studies Allison N. Jaynes, PhD talks about what the space crafts will be doing during the first TRACERS launch watch party at Van Allen Hall in Iowa City on Tuesday. This mission is the first dedicated to magnetic reconnection with hopes of getting several new discoveries from the data that is collected. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

University of Iowa Physics and Astronomy research associate Darrelle Wilkinson watches as the launch clock counts down during the TRACERS launch watch party at Van Allen Hall in Iowa City on Tuesday. Wilkinson has been working on the TRACERS mission for three years and is part of the science operation center. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Richard Carlson of Coralville and his grandson Archie McLaughlin, 6, of North Liberty watch as the TRACERS satellites successfully launch during a watch party at Van Allen Hall in Iowa City on Wednesday. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)