Space may look empty, but it contains extreme temperatures, high levels of background radiation, micrometeoroids, and the unfiltered glare of the sun. In addition, materials and equipment on the outside of the International Space Station are exposed to atomic oxygen (AO) and other charged particles as it orbits the Earth at the very edge of our atmosphere.

Six of NASA's SunRISE small satellites will work together, creating the largest radio telescope ever launched to detect and track hazardous explosive space weather events.

Building a 6-mile-wide (10-kilometer-wide) telescope in space may sound like science fiction. But through the combined power of six toaster-size satellites, that's what NASA's SunRISE will be: a huge radio telescope in orbit that will help deepen scientists' understanding of explosive space weather events.