After successfully launching the first pair of small satellites earlier this month from New Zealand, NASA and Rocket Lab are now targeting no earlier than 1:30 a.m. EDT Monday, May 22 (5:30 p.m. NZST), to launch the second pair of storm tracking CubeSats into orbit.
After successfully launching the first pair of small satellites earlier this month from New Zealand, NASA and Rocket Lab are now targeting no earlier than 1:30 a.m. EDT Monday, May 22 (5:30 p.m. NZST), to launch the second pair of storm tracking CubeSats into orbit.
The agency’s TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission will launch aboard a Rocket Lab Electron from Launch Complex 1 Pad B in Māhia, New Zealand.
Rocket Lab will provide live coverage beginning approximately 20 minutes before launch. Coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, the agency’s website, and Rocket Lab’s website.
TROPICS is a constellation of four identical CubeSats designed to observe tropical cyclones from low Earth orbit, making observations more frequently than current weather tracking satellites. Gathering data more frequently can help scientists improve weather forecasting models.
Read more at NASA
Image: The first pair of TROPICS CubeSats lifts off aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1, Pad B, in Māhia, New Zealand earlier in May. (Credits: Rocket Lab)
