Rocket Lab successfully launched two NASA TROPICS satellites into orbit aboard an Electron rocket after lifting off from from Launch Complex 1 Pad B in Māhia, New Zealand. These two CubeSats will monitor tropical cyclones as part of NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder Program and should increase understanding of the processes driving rapid changes in storm structure as well as integrity.
The satellites will be distributed evenly in two low Earth orbital planes approximately 340 miles above the Earth’s surface. TROPICS aim to provide hourly observations of a storm’s precipitation, temperature, and humidity, compared to about every six hours with current satellites. This constant data collection can help scientists improve weather forecasting models.
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Rocket Lab is one of 13 companies NASA selected for VADR contracts in 2022. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manages the VADR contracts. As part of VADR, the fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts have a five-year ordering period with a maximum total value of $300 million across all contracts,” said the agency.
