NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting 9 p.m. EDT, Sunday, April 30 (1 p.m. New Zealand Standard Time, Monday, May 1), to launch two storm tracking CubeSats into orbit.
Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated on Friday, April 28, 2023, to reflect that Rocket Lab has pushed the TROPICS launch date back, due to an incoming weather front. A new target date and updated NASA coverage will be confirmed soon.
Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated April 24, 2023, to correct the targeted first launch date to Sunday, April 30 EDT and second launch targeted for May 16.
NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting 9 p.m. EDT, Sunday, April 30 (1 p.m. New Zealand Standard Time, Monday, May 1), to launch two storm tracking CubeSats into orbit.
The agency’s TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission has a two hour launch window from Launch Complex 1 Pad B in Māhia, New Zealand.
Rocket Lab will provide live coverage beginning approximately 20 minutes before launch. Coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, as well as the Rocket Lab website.
TROPICS is a constellation of four identical CubeSats designed to observe tropical cyclones from low Earth orbit, making observations more frequently than current weather tracking satellites. Both payloads, each carrying a pair of CubeSats, will launch on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket.
A second launch from Rocket Lab with two additional CubeSats is targeted for Tuesday, May 16 EDT, with exact launch times contingent on the date and time of the first launch.
TROPICS will study tropical cyclones as part of NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder Program and should increase understanding of the processes driving rapid changes in storm structure and integrity. NASA plans to have the CubeSats distributed evenly in two low Earth orbital planes about 340 miles (550 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface. TROPICS has the potential to provide roughly hourly observations of a storm’s precipitation, temperature, and humidity, compared to about every six hours with current satellites. Gathering data more frequently can help scientists improve weather forecasting models.
Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):
Friday, April 28
NASA and Rocket Lab will host a media teleconference at 4 p.m. for the TROPICS mission. Audio of the briefing will be livestreamed on NASA’s website.
The teleconference participants will include:
- Dr. Will McCarty, program scientist, NASA Earth Science Division
- Ben Kim, program executive, NASA Earth Science Division
- Dr. William Blackwell, TROPICS principal investigator, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
- Bradley Smith, Director, Launch Services for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
- Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO
To participate, media must RSVP at least two hours prior to the start of the briefing by emailing: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Sunday, April 30
Approximately 8:40 p.m. – Live launch coverage begins
9 p.m. – Launch window opens
NASA website launch coverage
Follow countdown coverage on NASA’s launch blog for live updates beginning no earlier than 8 p.m. as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff on Rocket Lab’s website and Flickr.
Watch, engage on social media
Stay connected and receive mission updates by following and tagging these accounts:
Twitter: @NASA_LSP, @NASAEarth, @NASAKennedy, @NASA, @RocketLab
Facebook: NASA, NASA LSP, RocketLabUSA
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAEarth, @RocketLabUSA
The TROPICS team is led by Blackwell at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts, and 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 launch services.
For more information about NASA’s TROPICS, visit:
-end-
Karen Fox
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1275
karen.fox@nasa.gov
Kiana Raines
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
kiana.a.raines@nasa.gov
Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov