NASA launches satellite for the sun Thursday around 9 p.m. ET in Lompoc, Calif. is on its way to a section of the sun for studying purposes.

As NASA launches satellite for the sun, the mission was filmed for the world to see.

Bound toward Helios, NASA launches satellite for the sun as NASA begins a new $182 million mission on Thursday. It launches a satellite to explore a little-studied region of the sun and better forecast space weather that might disrupt Earth's communications systems, according to the Associated Press (AP).

At the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a Pegasus rocket carried the 7-foot long, 400-pound Iris satellite. The airplane is count downed to drop the rocket of an altitude of 39,000 feet. Once dropped from the plane, the rocket began its 13-minute journey to space, according to the AP.

"We are thrilled to add IRIS to the suite of NASA missions studying the sun," John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science in Washington told NASA.com. "IRIS will help scientists understand the mysterious and energetic interface between the surface and corona of the sun."

NASA's Explorer Program at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., provides overall management of the IRIS mission of the 60-day observation, according to NASA.com. During this phase the team will check image quality and perform calibrations and other tests to ensure a successful mission.

"Congratulations to the entire team on the successful development and deployment of the IRIS mission," IRIS project manager Gary Kushner of the Lockheed Martin Solar and Atmospheric Laboratory in Palo Alto, Calif. said. "Now that IRIS is in orbit, we can begin our 30-day engineering checkout followed by a 30-day science checkout and calibration period."