Launch of Cyclone-Tracking TROPICS CubeSats from New Zealand, Pt. II (Official NASA Broadcast)
NASA and Rocket Lab will launch two small satellites to join two already in orbit for NASA’s TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission. Liftoff on an Electron rocket is targeted for no earlier than 11:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, May 25 (0330 UTC Friday, May 26) from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex-1 in Māhia, New Zealand.
The TROPICS mission will study the formation and development of tropical cyclones, making observations of temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and cloud ice more often than what is possible with current weather satellites.
A recording of the May 7 TROPICS launch can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjnByCGS2Bs.
Image Credit: Rocket Lab
