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    Rocket Lab TROPICS Timeline of Events for Today’s Launch

    Close up of the top half of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket standing vertical at the launch pad with bright green grass and blue ocean waters in the distance. The black rocket's payload fairings have the NASA logo and TROPICS mission name on it. Credit: Rocket Lab

    A 70-minute window opens at 11:46 p.m. EDT Thursday, May 25, (3:46 p.m. NZST Friday, May 26th) to launch a pair of NASA’s TROPICS CubeSats today on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from New Zealand. Here’s a look at some of today’s upcoming milestones. All times are approximate: Timeline of Launch Events Hr/Min/Sec        Event -00:02:00 …

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    NASA to Discuss Science on Next SpaceX Cargo Launch to Space Station

    Arabadopsis thaliana plants growing in the International Space Station’s Advanced Plant Habitat for the Plant Habitat-03 investigation, which looks at whether plants grown in space can pass adaptations to their next generation.

    NASA will host a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday, May 30, to discuss the next science investigations, technology demonstrations, crew supplies, and hardware bound for the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for the agency. Audio of the media call will stream live at: https://www.nasa.gov/live. NASA and SpaceX are …

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    Weather Now 85% Go For Launch

    Weather is 85% favorable for the upcoming launch of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket carrying the final pair of NASA’s TROPICS CubeSats. The team is expecting minimal clouds and light winds over Launch Complex-1 in in Māhia, New Zealand throughout the countdown and through lift-off.

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    Weather 80% Go For Launch

    Weather officials from Rocket Lab predict an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for today’s launch window. The primary weather concern for the launch window is ground winds. TROPICS CubeSats use different wavelengths to see different features of storms in their surrounding environment, and they make more frequent passes of tropical cyclones than current …

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    Rocket Lab Ready to Launch NASA’s TROPICS CubeSats

    One CubeSat in the TROPICS fleet, photographed against a white backdrop. The satellite is a thin rectangle made of a silver rectangle with a gold square stacked on top. A solar panel is attached to the side of the spacecraft at an angle.

    After a weather delay, a pair of small weather tracking satellites are ready to launch to space aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand a few hours from now. NASA’s TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission is sending a …

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    ISS Daily Summary Report – 5/25/2023

    Private Astronaut Mission (PAM) Axiom-2 (Ax-2): Commercial, Outreach, and Payload Activities: Today, the Ax-2 crew completed several photo and video activities that will be used for commercial and marketing purposes. Crew also conducted three media outreach events, including a live event with Space Center Houston, as well as interviews with CBS and Men’s Health. Additionally, …

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    Intuitive Machines Lunar Landing Site Moves to South Pole

    Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lunar lander inside the company's facility at the Houston Spaceport. Credits: Intuitive Machines.

    NASA, in cooperation with Intuitive Machines, is moving the landing site for the first Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) mission to Moon’s South Pole as an important first step in managing risks for future Artemis landings. One of the first lunar payload deliveries under NASA’s CLPS initiative was awarded to Intuitive Machines in May 2019. …

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    Expedition 69 and Ax-2 Working Together on Space Biology

    The Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) and Expedition 69 crew members pose for a portrait together aboard the space station. In the center front row, is Expedition 69 crew member Sultan Alneyadi flanked by (from left) Ax-2 crew mates Peggy Whitson, Ali Alqarni, John Shoffner, and Rayyanah Barnawi. In the back (from left) are, Expedition 69 crew mates Dmitri Petelin, Stephen Bowen, Andrey Fedyaev, Sergey Prokopyev, and Woody Hoburg. Not pictured is astronaut Frank Rubio.

    The Expedition 69 and Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) crews worked throughout Thursday conducting a multitude of space research aboard the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the orbiting lab’s three cosmonauts started unpacking a new cargo ship and worked on the European robotic arm controller. Science is moving full speed ahead aboard the orbital outpost as four Expedition …

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    NASA Successfully Completes Globetrotting SuperBIT Balloon Flight

    NASA successfully completed a flight test of its super pressure balloon carrying the Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) science mission at 9:27 a.m. EDT, Thursday, May 25, after some 39 days and 14 hours of flight. The mission began at 11:42 a.m., Sunday, April 16 (7:42 p.m. April 15 in U.S. Eastern Time) launching …

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    Unfavorable Winds Delay TROPICS Launch

    NASA and Rocket Lab are now targeting no earlier than 11:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, May 25, (3:30 p.m. NZST Friday, May 26th) for the launch of the agency’s TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission, from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. Due to strong upper-level …

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