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Small Satellite Missions

  • Live Coverage of NASA’s PREFIRE Launch Now Underway

    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.

    Live coverage is underway for the second and final launch of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission. Rocket Lab is targeting Saturday, June 1, 3:13 p.m. NZST (11:13 p.m. EDT Friday, May 31). for the launch of “PREFIRE and Ice,” which will send the agency’s CubeSat to low Earth orbit. Watch …

  • NASA’s Second PREFIRE Mission: Weather 70% Favorable for Launch

    Weather officials with Rocket Lab predict a 70% chance of favorable weather for launch of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission. The launch team is monitoring the space weather as there has been a coronal mass ejection partially directed toward Earth that may induce a geomagnetic storm, though predictions are that …

  • NASA’s New Climate Mission to Launch Second Satellite

    Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket called “Ready, Aim, PREFIRE” is vertical on the pad in Mahia, New Zealand ahead of launching the first of two PREFIRE CubeSats on May 25, 2024.

    Launch day is here for NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission. After the first PREFIRE CubeSat launched from Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand on May 25, a second satellite about the size of a shoebox waits on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket for liftoff on the mission’s second and …

  • Launch Set for NASA’s Second PREFIRE Climate Mission

    Night shot of Rocket Lab payload fairing with NASA logo and PREFIRE mission name painted on it.

    NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting Saturday, June 1, to launch the second CubeSat for the agency’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission. The launch window opens at 3 p.m. NZST, (11 p.m. EDT, Friday, May 31). The first satellite successfully launched on 7:41 p.m. NZST May 25 (3:41 a.m. EDT) on …

  • NASA’s PREFIRE Payload Has Deployed

    NASA’s PREFIRE CubeSat has deployed from the Rocket Lab’s Electron kick stage. The team will seek signal acquisition from the PREFIRE CubeSat and provide confirmation on the agency website when a signal is acquired. This concludes NASA’s live launch coverage of the mission. NASA’s PREFIRE mission will help close a gap in our understanding of how much …

  • Liftoff for ‘Ready, Aim, PREFIRE!’

    Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 1 at Māhia, New Zealand at 7:41 p.m. NZST Saturday, May 25 (3:41 a.m. EDT), on the first of two launches of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission.

  • Rocket Lab’s Electron Rocket Go for Launch!

    Rocket Lab’s “Ready, Aim, PREFIRE” – the first of two launches of NASA’s PREFIRE mission – is just minutes away from launch. After holding at T-12 for several minutes the countdown has resumed. The CubeSat is set to launch from Launch Complex 1 at Māhia, New Zealand, aboard the company’s Electron rocket, which is a …

  • Mission Facts About NASA’s PREFIRE

    Night shot of Rocket Lab payload fairing with NASA logo and PREFIRE mission name painted on it.

    This is the first of two launches on Rocket Lab Electron rockets to deploy NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission. Rocket Lab has named today’s launch “Ready, Aim, PREFIRE.” The second PREFIRE launch of a second identical CubeSat is named “PREFIRE and Ice” and will launch within three weeks. Both PREFIRE …

  • NASA’s PREFIRE Mission: Launch Broadcast Now Underway

    a close up of Rocket Lab's payload fairing while it sits on the launch pad. Painted on it our the NASA logo and the PREFIRE mission name.

    Live coverage is underway for the first of two launches of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission. Rocket Lab is targeting 7:28 p.m. NZST (3:28 a.m. EDT Saturday, May 25) for “Ready, Aim, PREFIRE,” the launch of the company’s Electron rocket that will send the CubeSat to low Earth orbit. Watch …

  • NASA’s PREFIRE Mission: Weather 70% Favorable for Today’s Launch

    A Rocket Lab Electron rocket is erect on the launch pad on the coast of Mahia, New Zealand. The sky is blue and the sea is calm on the horizon behind the pad.

    Weather officials with Rocket Lab predict a 70% percent chance of favorable weather for today’s launch of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission. Storm conditions have cleared, leaving intervals of clouds and sunshine. Winds are out of the west at 5 to 10 mph. The mission consists of two, identical 6U …