Home » NASA, Rocket Lab to Launch Second TROPICS CubeSats from New Zealand May 22

NASA, Rocket Lab to Launch Second TROPICS CubeSats from New Zealand May 22

By  //  May 17, 2023

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launch target time is no earlier than 1:30 a.m.

After successfully launching the first pair of small satellites earlier this month from New Zealand, NASA, and Rocket Lab is now targeting no earlier than 1:30 a.m. EDT Monday, May 22, to launch the second pair of storm-tracking CubeSats into orbit. (NASA image)

(NASA) – After successfully launching the first pair of small satellites earlier this month from New Zealand, NASA, and Rocket Lab is now targeting no earlier than 1:30 a.m. EDT Monday, May 22, 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 frequent than current weather tracking satellites. Gathering data more frequently can help scientists improve weather forecasting models.

NASA will use TROPICS to study tropical cyclones as part of the agency’s Earth Venture Class missions, which select targeted science missions to fill gaps in our overarching understanding of the entire Earth system.

Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):

Monday, May 22

■ At approximately 1:15 a.m. – Live launch coverage begins

■ No earlier than 1:30 a.m. – Launch window opens

The TROPICS team is led by Dr. William Blackwell at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts, and includes researchers from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and several universities and commercial partners.

NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch service.

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