(AGENPARL) - Roma, 26 Maggio 2023 - (AGENPARL) – ven 26 maggio 2023 May 26, 2023 
RELEASE 23-057
*NASA, Rocket Lab Complete Launch of TROPICS CubeSat Constellation*
tropics_launch.jpeg
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 1 at M?hia, New
Zealand at 11:46 a.m, May 25, 2023, carrying two TROPICS CubeSats for NASA.
*/Credits: Rocket Lab/*
The final pair of NASA’s TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of
Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of
Smallsats) are in orbit after successfully launching at 11:46 p.m. EDT, May
25, (3:46 p.m. NZST Friday, May 26th), completing the constellation.
TROPICS launched aboard an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex
1 Pad B in M?hia, New Zealand. The smallsats were deployed at 12:20 am EDT
on May 26. Signal for the first CubeSat was acquired at 1:16 a.m. EDT and at
2:19 a.m. for the second.
Through this mission, NASA will study tropical cyclones and aims to improve
forecasting for hurricanes and typhoons.
“As a lifelong Floridian, I know firsthand how critical it is for millions
of Americans to have timely and accurate forecasts for hurricanes. More
intense rainfall and increased coastal flooding are devastating livelihoods
and taking lives, demonstrating the importance of NASA’s cutting-edge
science to help answer questions that nobody else can,” said NASA
Administrator Bill Nelson. “With missions like TROPICS, NASA continues to
lead the way in getting satellite data more quickly to our partners like
the National Hurricane Center and Joint Typhoon Warning Center, providing
vital forecasts that help our communities before, during, and after
landfall.”
This launch follows a previous successful TROPICS launch [1] with two other
small satellites earlier this month.
“As we move into hurricane season for 2023, TROPICS will be in position to
provide unprecedented detail on these storms, helping us better understand
how they form, intensify, and move across the ocean,” said Karen St.
Germain, lead of NASA’s Earth Science Division. “We rely on targeted,
innovative missions like this to help create a robust Earth science
portfolio.”
TROPICS is a constellation of four identical CubeSats designed to observe
tropical cyclones in a unique, inclined low Earth orbit over Earth’s
tropics – an orbit that allows them to travel over any given storm about
once an hour. Current weather tracking satellites have a timing of about once
every six hours.
“We are very excited to have the four satellites launched. We expect the
new observing capabilities from TROPICS will improve our understanding of
tropical cyclones and our ability to predict their track and intensity,”
said William Blackwell, the mission’s principal investigator at MIT’s
Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts.
In addition to Blackwell, the TROPICS team 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* [2]
-end-
*Press Contacts*
Karen Fox / Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1257 / 202-358-1100
Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-747-8310
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[1] https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-rocket-lab-launch-first-pair-of-storm-observing-cubesats
[2] https://go.nasa.gov/3h46pJp