Illustration of SES-14, a commercial communications satellite that will carry NASA's GOLD instrument.

(NASA Goddard's Conceptual Image Lab/Chris Meaney)

At a Glance

NASA's GOLD instrument will study the interplay between Earth's upper atmosphere and the lowest reaches of space.It is the first NASA science mission to fly an instrument as a commercially hosted payload.

A satellite hosting NASA's new instrument to study the edge of the Earth's atmosphere successfully reached orbit Thursday, after a communication glitch led scientists to fear the worst.

According to a statement by Arianespace, a European commercial satellite launching company, the uneventfully Thursday evening. Soon after, the company lost contact with the launcher, along with the NASA's, or GOLD instrument, hosted by the SES 14,a satellite controlled by Luxembourg-based operator SES.

Communication with two other commercial satellites on board was also severed.

Stephane Israel, Arianespace's chief executive, during alive feed of the launch.

About two hours later, Spaceflight Now confirmed the launch of the satellites and that communication with the satellites had been established.

According to NASA, GOLDwill investigate the interplaybetween Earth's upper atmosphere, the ionosphere, and the lowest reaches of space. It is the first NASA science mission to fly an instrument as a commercially hosted payload.

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NASA saidGOLD is the first mission that can provide "observations fast enough to monitor the details of regular, hour-by-hour changes in space weather — not just its overarching climate."

“The first meteorological satellites revolutionized our understanding of — and ability to predict — terrestrial weather,” said Elsayed Talaat, heliophysics chief scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We anticipate GOLD will give us new, similar insight into the dynamics of the upper atmosphere and our planet’s space environment.”