(AGENPARL) - Roma, 16 Maggio 2023 - (AGENPARL) – mar 16 maggio 2023 May 16, 2023
MEDIA ADVISORY M23-061
NASA, Rocket Lab Announce Coverage for Second TROPICS Launch
[Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 1 at M?hia, New Zealand at 9:00 p.m., carrying two TROPICS CubeSats for NASA.](https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/tropicslaunch_0.jpg)
tropicslaunch.jpg
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 1 at M?hia, New Zealand at 9:00 p.m., carrying two TROPICS CubeSats for NASA. Credits: Rocket Lab
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](https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-rocket-lab-launch-first-pair-of-storm-observing-cubesats) (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 M?hia, New Zealand.
Rocket Lab will provide live coverage beginning approximately 20 minutes before launch. Coverage will air on NASA Television, the [NASA app](https://www.nasa.gov/connect/apps.html), the agency’s [website](https://www.nasa.gov/live), 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.
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
Approximately 1:15 a.m. – Live launch coverage begins
No earlier than 1:30 a.m. – Launch window opens
NASA website launch coverage
Watch, engage on social media
Stay connected and receive mission updates by following and tagging these accounts:
BTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=heDh9uXGysZHffb8zTZQq4JZtdZ09c%2FBSxD5BDC5z3Y%3D&reserved=0)
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.
For more information about NASA’s TROPICS, visit:
https://go.nasa.gov/3h46pJp
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Press Contacts
Karen Fox / Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1257 / 202-358-1100
Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-747-8310