After the previous target launch date changed due to weather conditions in New Zealand, NASA and Rocket Lab are now aiming for 9 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 7 (1 p.m. Monday, May 8, New Zealand Standard Time) to launch two CubeSats tracking the storm 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 approximately 20 minutes prior to launch. Coverage will be broadcast on NASA TV, the NASA app, the agency’s website and the Rocket Lab website.
The second launch from Rocket Lab will carry two more CubeSats, with exact launch times dependent on the date and time of the first launch. TROPICS is a constellation of four identical CubeSats designed to observe tropical cyclones from low Earth orbit, making observations more frequently than current weather monitoring satellites. More frequent data collection can help scientists improve weather forecasting models.
TROPICS will study tropical cyclones as part of NASA’s Earth Venture Class missions, which select targeted science missions to fill gaps in our overarching understanding of the entire Earth system.
Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all Eastern):
Sunday, May 7
At approximately 8:40 p.m. – Live broadcast begins
21:00 – Launch window opens
Launch of the NASA website
Follow the countdown on NASA’s launch blog for live updates starting at 8 p.m. at the earliest. as countdown milestones occur. Streaming video and on-demand photos of the launch will be available shortly after launch on the Rocket Lab website and Flickr. The images are also available on the NASA website.
Stay connected and get 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 Dr. William 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. The launch service is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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