Although we are disappointed with the loss of two TROPICS CubeSats, these devices are part of NASA’s Earth venture program, which offers low cost, and high-risk equipment. Despite losing the first two of the six satellites, the TROPICS constellation will still be able to meet its scientific objectives with the remaining four CubeSats distributed across two channels. With four satellites, TROPICS will still provide advanced time-based monitoring of tropical storms compared to traditional viewing systems. TROPICS is a goal of Earth venture – a science-driven, competitive, low-cost machine that offers investment in new Earth science to improve our ability to better understand the current state of the Earth system and to continuously improve predicting future changes. As the agency works with emerging startup providers with inexpensive startup skills in space, these types of machines are essential to expand our scientific knowledge while promoting the U.S. commercial launch industry.
As a licensed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee, FAA and Astra will lead an investigation to understand what happened during the launch of TROPICS-1. NASA will borrow any technology needed but can expect to stop the launch effort with Astra during the investigation to ensure we move forward when we are ready. NASA’s Launch Services Program, which manages the launch service, continues to work with emerging startup providers to bring the low-cost science orbit journey through commercial-based contracts, using NASA’s minimal surveillance to achieve lower launch costs. Small D satellites and Class D payloads withstand high risk and serve as an ideal platform for technological innovation and architecture, contributing to the scientific research and development of NASA technology. Due to the ambiguity expressed by Astra, NASA participated in the investigation of Astra’s previous launch. In addition, we have participated in discussions about the lessons learned and the corrective actions. We recognize the risks involved in the new startup provider and will lend our assistance as needed.
For more read: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/update-on-nasas-tropics-1-mission
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