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Small Satellite Missions

Viewing Posts from June 2024

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    NASA’s ELaNa 43 CubeSats to Launch on Firefly’s Alpha Rocket

    Image of Technicians from the University of Maine prepare CubeSat MESAT-1 for integration at Firefly’s Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on Monday, April 22, 2024. MESAT-1, along with seven other payloads, will be integrated into a Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket for NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) 43 mission as part of the agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative and Firefly’s Venture-Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 contract.

    NASA and Firefly Aerospace are targeting no earlier than Wednesday, June 26, for the launch of eight CubeSats as part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative’s (CSLI) ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) 43. The 30-minute launch window will open at 9 p.m. PDT on June 26 (12 a.m. EDT on June 27). Firefly Aerospace’s “Noise of …

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    Liftoff for PREFIRE and Ice!

    A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off from the pad amid an overcast sky.

    Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 1 at Māhia, New Zealand at 3:15 p.m. NZST Wednesday, June 5 (11:15 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 4), on the second of two launches of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission.  The PREFIRE mission will help close a gap in our understanding …

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    Rocket Lab’s Electron Rocket ‘Go’ for Launch!

    The mission team has called out “go for launch” for Rocket Lab’s PREFIRE and Ice launch, with the second of two launches of NASA’s PREFIRE mission now just minutes away!  The CubeSat – about the size of a bread loaf – is set to launch aboard the company’s Electron rocket, from Launch Complex 1 at …

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    NASA’s Second PREFIRE Launch Coverage Now Underway

    Live coverage of the second and final launch of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission is underway. Rocket Lab is targeting Wednesday, June 5 at 3:15 p.m. NZST (11:15 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 4) for launch of “PREFIRE and Ice,” which will send the agency’s CubeSat to low Earth orbit to …

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    NASA’s Second PREFIRE Mission: Small Satellites, Big Science

    NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission will fly a pair of shoebox-size cube satellites, or CubeSats, that will measure the amount of heat Earth radiates into space from two of the coldest, most remote regions on the planet – Earth’s polar regions.  At the heart of the PREFIRE mission is Earth’s …

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    NASA’s Second PREFIRE Mission: Weather 80% Favorable for Launch

    Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket called "PREFIRE and Ice” is vertical on the pad in Mahia, New Zealand ahead of launching the second of two PREFIRE CubeSats for NASA on May 29, 2024.

    Rocket Lab successfully conducted a Delta Launch Readiness Review yesterday for the second launch of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission and is ready to proceed to launch.  The launch, named “PREFIRE and Ice” by Rocket Lab, is targeted for Wednesday, June 5, at 3:15 p.m. NZST (11:15 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 4).  …

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    Launch Reset for NASA’s Second PREFIRE Climate Mission

    NASA and Rocket Lab now are targeting no earlier than 3 p.m. NZST, Wednesday, June 5, (11 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 4) for the launch of the second CubeSat for the agency’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission. Rocket Lab waved off the June 1 launch attempt of “PREFIRE and Ice” due …

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