Archives for May 2023

CGI (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) has been awarded a further contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) under ESA’s ARTES Core Competitiveness program, with the support of the UK Space Agency, to expand the development of its Dynamic Predictive Routing (DPR) tool. The tool uses machine learning to enhance the routing of traffic in dynamic networks in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), especially those incorporating laser inter-satellite links (ISLs). This enables operators to increase revenue by optimizing network fill factor and improve customer satisfaction by responding more quickly to changing user demands.

During the first phase of work, CGI successfully demonstrated that its machine learning-based routing tool for satellite planning was more effective than the current state-of-the-art tools. The CGI tool allows a satellite operator to implement a standards-based Software Defined Network across the space and ground networks, with a machine learning-enabled central controller and on-board agents controlling virtual routers on the satellites. This new phase of work will formally demonstrate the achievable performance on space-qualified hardware under realistic network loading conditions.

CGI continues to work with TESAT-Spacecom, a market leader in the field of telecommunication payloads and laser communications, to develop this project. The DPR project builds on CGI’s end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator platform, called CGI AccelerateAI360, together with a series of solutions for the global satellite communications marketplace which form the CGI Autonomous Satcom Solutions (AUTSS) program.

Jaime Reed, Vice President for CGI’s UK and Australia Space Data Platforms and Applications, said, “Dynamic Predictive Routing continues to demonstrate the utility of applying machine learning techniques to some of the most difficult problems in satellite communications planning. With this ongoing development we will help satellite operators achieve market-leading results with a proven solution, based on CGI’s ability to master end-to-end network control and optimization.”

Dietmar Schmitt, Head of Technologies and Products Division at ESA, added, “We are proud of our longstanding collaboration with CGI and pleased to continue to work with them on the DPR project.”

For more than 40 years, CGI has delivered complex, mission-critical space software systems for clients across Europe, Australia, Asia and North America, from supporting satellite navigation, communications and operations, to space-enabled applications.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has signed a deal to launch NASA’s Starling mission, a multi-CubeSat mission to test and demo autonomous swarm technologies, as well as automated space traffic management for groups of spacecraft in LEO.

The four Starling smallsats have been manifested on an Electron commercial rideshare mission scheduled for lift-off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand during Q3 of this year. Rocket Lab will deliver the satellites to space within three months of the contract signing.

The Starling mission is designed to test technologies to enable future “swarm” missions. Spacecraft swarms refer to multiple spacecraft autonomously coordinating their activities to achieve certain goals. Starling will explore technologies for in-space network communications, onboard relative navigation between spacecraft, autonomous maneuver planning and execution, and distributed science autonomy.

NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate manages the Starling project. The program is based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Starling joins a growing list of NASA missions launched by Rocket Lab since 2018, including the ELaNa-19 educational CubeSat program, the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon, and two dedicated Electron launches for the NASA TROPICS mission.

“Electron has been delivering rapid and reliable access to orbit for NASA since 2018 and we’re delighted to continue that strong heritage with the Starling mission. Starling has the potential to revolutionize the way science is done in orbit and we’re immensely proud to make that possible.”
— Peter Beck, Rocket Lab Founder and CEO

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) and Oxford Space Systems (OSS) have confirmed a partnership to build and launch an OSS Wrapped Rib antenna mounted to an SSTL CarbSAR satellite.

The In Orbit Demonstration mission advances both companies’ abilities, with OSS gaining space heritage, and SSTL building its ability to integrate capability from new suppliers. The work has been jointly funded by OSS, SSTL, Airbus Defence and Space, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF — HM Government’s corporate venturing arm for national security and defence technologies) and the MoD, and is proving a ground breaking Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) concept that may be of significant interest to UK defence intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) strategies in the near to medium term future.

Surveillance, change detection and “big data” analytics applications are driving interest in spaceborne SAR data, to support day/night and all-weather imaging at a rate faster than can be achieved with any individual satellite. This drives demand for much smaller radar satellites that can be launched within a limited launch volume in groups, however it is still desirable to retain a large antenna for better quality imagery.

Having a large, scalable, stowable and lightweight, reflector antenna provides a number of benefits in designing small radar satellites for particular applications. A reflector antenna can also significantly simplify the radar electronics, making it ideal for implementing radar on much smaller spacecraft such as SSTL’s CarbSAR platform.

The Oxford Space Systems Wrapped Rib Antenna for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) enables high resolution imaging from smallsat EO missions, irrespective of weather conditions or daylight. These antennas deploy carbon-fiber ribs from a central hub to form a 3m diameter parabolic dish supporting a high performing metal mesh reflector surface.

This UK developed, antenna technology has a uniquely compact, stowed configuration and achieves a highly, cost-efficient performance when deployed in orbit. The antenna has successfully completed an extensive ground based test program, including a radio frequency (RF) test campaign and is now ready to demonstrate its performance in orbit.

Carbonite is the latest in a long range of 100 kg. class smallsat platforms that SSTL has been building in Guildford, UK, since the early 1980’s. Carbonite-1 launched in 2015 was an innovative development mission based on a commercially available optical telescope.

The range was always designed to be multi-sensor and has evolved to feature a standard set of core platform avionics available now with either a high resolution optical, medium resolution multi-spectral, mid-wave infra-red or SAR payload. CarbSAR — delivering high-resolution, X-band SAR imagery — sees the SAR electronics embedded with the standard Carbonite satellite core avionics in an elegant combination with the stowable OSS antenna.

“This In Orbit Demonstration mission will allow us to build on our relationship with SSTL and accelerate our product development and industrialization program for the game changing Wrapped Rib SAR antenna. The support of NSSIF is a huge vote of confidence in the technology and the capability of Oxford Space Systems to support future UK requirements. I am delighted that the antenna for the IOD mission is being built in our newly commissioned facilities that will establish our production capability for future export sales.”
— Sean Sutcliffe (CEO, Oxford Space Systems)”

“Announcing a new satellite mission is one of the most exciting things we get to do here at SSTL. And that excitement is amplified when the mission in question is CarbSAR, a variant of our Carbonite range, and a mission part-funded by our Shareholder Airbus Defence & Space. CarbSAR is a compelling UK success story on its own, as well as a necessary step towards the bigger spacecraft required for the UK’s Space ambitions. The integration of our latest generation 100Kg Satellite platform and SAR electronics with OSS’s revolutionary wrapped rib antenna is a mission we will be very proud to launch.”
— Andrew Cawthorne, Business Development Director of SSTL

About the companies

Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) is at the forefront of space innovation delivering customisable complete mission solutions for Earth observation, science, communications, navigation, in-orbit debris removal and servicing and exploration beyond Earth infrastructure. Since 1981, SSTL has built and launched 71 satellites for 20 international customers, as well as providing training and development programs, consultancy services, and mission studies for ESA, NASA, international governments and commercial customers. SSTL is well known for innovative missions such as the CARBONITE satellites, the NovaSAR S-band radar imaging satellite and the RemoveDEBRIS space debris removal technology demonstrator.

Oxford Space Systems is a venture capital backed, growth stage space technology business founded in 2013 with a vision to be the global leader in deployable antennas for Space. The company continues to grow rapidly in response to commercial contracts secured and currently employs over 70 staff. Oxford Space Systems moved into its own custom-built facility on the Harwell Campus in October 2018. Oxford Space Systems has established a metal mesh manufacturing facility at their Harwell Science and Innovation Campus base, manufacturing foldable surfaces for their reflector antennas. The project, backed by the European Space Agency — ESA ARTES Core Competitiveness programme, will enable the company to meet the growing market demand for high-specification antennas. In January 2023 Oxford Space Systems opened a new manufacturing facility in Abingdon, Oxfordshire to support its ambitious growth plans. The primary objective of this new facility is to scale up internal capability to manufacture composite materials and components for deployable antennas. This will accelerate the company’s industrialisation plan to deliver batches of antennas for customers’ satellite constellation programs.

Warpspace has signed a strategic partnership agreement with LatConnect 60 Ltd. to create a mechanism to monitor carbon emissions from space efficiently and in very high resolution.

LatConnect 60 Ltd. is developing a constellation of satellites to measure carbon emission concentrations from space, with the sensitivity to pick up emission flow rates as low as 50kg/hr and higher. The first satellite is scheduled to be launched into LEO in the second half of 2025.

Warpspace is developing a nexgen space communications network, “WarpHub InterSat,” to promote “visualization” of the Earth. In this network, a data relay satellite placed in the MEO, wherein satellites in this orbit have more visibility to the Earth’s ground stations, serves as a “hub.”

The relay satellites receive data from the customer’s satellite via optical lasers and transmit the data to the ground one after another. As a result, the customer can obtain a larger volume of data more quickly than with conventional communication methods. This system is expected to be especially useful when highly accurate data is needed as soon as possible, such as disaster prevention.

The network is also expected to effectively observe “gases,” such as carbon dioxide and methane, whose distribution and conditions change over time. LatConnect 60 will work in partnership with Warpspace to monitor the emission and distribution of greenhouse gases so that companies and local governments can take appropriate countermeasures.

As a first step, the two companies will select the most suitable optical communication terminal for the LatConnect60’s observation satellite and integrate it with the ground system. Furthermore, through this strategic partnership agreement, the two companies will collaborate in approaching government agencies and other stakeholders in the Japanese and Australian markets. Last year, Warpspace opened a subsidiary in Washington D.C., and this year Warpspace is establishing a base in Europe.

“Global warming derived from greenhouse gases is an urgent issue for the entire planet, with the MIT Climate Clock warning of a 1.5 degree Celsius climate change in the following decade if emissions are not significantly reduced by 2030. I feel a great sense of significance and mission for having been given the opportunity to take on this major challenge that affects everyone, including myself, together, and for agreeing to expand this circle of collaboration worldwide. We are very pleased to have agreed to collaborate with LatConnect 60.“
— Hirokazu Mori, Chief Strategy Officer of Warpspace and CEO of WARPSPACE USA

Warpspace is a space tech startup in Tsukuba, the hometown of Japanese aerospace development, developing an optical inter-satellite data relay service in medium Earth orbit called “WarpHub InterSat.” The main customers are Earth observation satellite operators that need to quickly move large volumes of data from space to the ground at the very time when they need it. Combining both heritages from JAXA and OICETS projects and supply chain innovations in NewSpace, Warpspace aims to become the world’s first private company to provide an optical communication network in space.

LatConnect 60 is a growth stage space technology company in Perth, Western Australia that generates vital insights from earth observation data. LatConnect 60 brings together deep industry knowledge and vital insights to create products and services to empower government and commercial clients. LatConnect 60 has developed its proprietary EONET platform to acquire & process data from a wide range of Earth Observation (EO) satellites to generate insights in the areas of Agriculture and Environment, Sustainability & Governance (ESG). LatConnect 60 will be launching its own constellation of ESG-focused satellites, HyperSight 60, with anticipated operations starting in Q3 2025 and onwards.

South Australian AI company AICRAFT has signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to develop and bring to market new solutions for space. Those MoUs are with Scanway (Poland—innovative smart imaging systems) and HEX20 (Australia—new constellations of smart satellites).

The signing and announcement of both partnerships coincide with the 15th Australian Space Forum held in Adelaide, Australia, on May 9, 2023. The partnerships will leverage AICRAFT’s AI and semiconductor technologies, Scanway’s expertise in designing and manufacturing electro-optic systems for space and industrial applications, and HEX20’s expertise and experience in designing and manufacturing satellites and avionics.

Both companies acknowledge the support of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) that organized an initial meeting between AICRAFT and Scanway as part of a business matching event between Polish and Australian delegations at the 2022 International Astronautical Congress in Paris. Austrade’s role is to promote Australian space sector capability and connect Australian firms with international partners through its network of trade specialists in Australia and markets around the world.

The partnership with another South Australian company — HEX20 — will explore the design, deployment and operation of smallsats and payloads in LEO as well as building smarter and larger satellites for future geostationary and deep space missions.

“The collaboration with Scanway provides us with a tremendous opportunity to embed our low-power, high-speed edge computing technology in space-proven imaging systems for real-time Earth Observation and space domain awareness. AICRAFT is on a mission to turn every payload into a smart one by embedding its scalable AI technology. We are excited to partner with local South Australian company HEX20 as this will give us the scope to integrate, launch and provide low-latency services to customers.”
— Dr. Tony Scoleri, CEO of AICRAFT”

“Scanway is very excited about the possibilities that will emerge from collaborating with AICRAFT in the scope of providing more advanced optical payloads packed with AI for better performance of Scanway’s telescopes on orbit.” — Mr. Jedrzej Kowalewski, CEO of Scanway S.A.

“The adoption of AI technology is a must-have in modern satellites. The HEX20 team is delighted to partner with AICRAFT to equip HEX20’s future satellite constellations with state-of-the-art software-defined and AI payloads.” — Lloyd Jacob Lopez, CEO of HEX20.

AICRAFT is a South Australian company that designs and manufactures smart sensors, tailored systems and electronic boards powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The company specialises in purpose-built electronics and advanced semiconductor technology to craft ultra-compact, high- speed, low-power, embedded AI solutions for high-performance edge computing in space and on Earth.

Scanway S.A. consists of two teams – Scanway Space, which specialises in creating observation systems for micro- and nanosatellites, and Scanway Industry, which develops industrial quality control systems. Scanway Space is one of the European leaders in the field of optical payloads and space cameras. The company designs, develops and implements smart optical instruments for small satellites: Scanway’s Optical Payload (SOP) and Spacecraft Health Scanner (SHS). With years of experience, a variety of skills among Scanway’s engineers and several completed and ongoing R&D projects (including PIAST and EagleEye) allow Scanway to create unique solutions, tailored as best as possible to customer’s requirements.

HEX20 is founded and run by a group of people passionate about outer space and its everexpanding horizons. The company builds cost-efficient and reliable satellite platforms for customers worldwide for academic, commercial and government missions. It has recently released a FlatSat kit for educational purposes and plan to launch a 3U, 6U and 27U satellites in 2023.

The ‘Rocket Like a Hurricane’ launch lifted-off on May 8th. at 13:00 NZST (01:00 UTC) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula deploying two of the four CubeSats that comprise the TROPICS constellation (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats). TROPICS will monitor the formation and evolution of tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, and will provide rapidly updating observations of storm intensity.

The constellation, which is part of NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder Program, requires launch to 550 kilometers altitude and inclination of about 30 degrees. Each pair of CubeSats must be launched to two specific orbital planes that are equally spaced 180 degrees opposite to maximize the temporal resolution. These unique orbits over Earth’s tropics allow the satellites to travel over any given storm about once an hour compared with current weather tracking satellites that have a timing of about once every six hours.

This high revisit rate aims to help scientists better understand the processes that effect these high-impact storms, ultimately leading to improved modeling and prediction to help protect lives and livelihoods. All four TROPICS satellites need to be deployed into their operational orbit within a 60-day period, a mission requirement made possible with small dedicated launch. With the first batch of TROPICS CubeSats now in orbit, the second launch, called ‘Coming to a Storm Near You,’ is expected to launch on another Electron rocket in approximately two weeks from Launch Complex 1.

‘Rocket Like a Hurricane’ was Rocket Lab’s fourth mission for 2023 and the Company’s 36th Electron mission overall. It brings the total number of satellites launched to orbit by Rocket Lab to 161.

“The TROPICS constellation has the real potential to save lives by providing more timely data about storm intensity and providing advance warning to those in storm paths, so it’s an immense privilege to have deployed these spacecraft to their precise orbits before the upcoming storm season. We’re grateful to the NASA team for entrusting us with such a critical mission and we look forward to completing the constellation with the second Electron launch in the coming days.”
— Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO

“We are extremely proud of all our partners, including MIT Lincoln Labs, Blue Canyon Technologies, KSAT, and Rocket Lab for successfully executing on this first launch. We look forward to the entire constellation being on-orbit to realize the benefits for the agency, as well as for our colleagues around the world.”
— Ben Kim, TROPICS program executive for NASA’s Earth Science Division.

Previous posting…

After the previous launch target date was changed due to weather conditions in New Zealand, NASA and Rocket Lab are now targeting 9:00 p.m., EDT, Sunday, May 7th, (1 p.m. Monday, May 8, New Zealand Standard Time), 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 starting approximately 20 minutes prior to launch. Coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, the agency’s website as well as the Rocket Lab launch website.

A second launch from Rocket Lab will carry two additional CubeSats, with exact launch times contingent on the date and time of the first launch.

TROPICS is a constellation of four identical CubeSats designed to observe tropical cyclones from LEO, making observations more frequently than current weather tracking satellites. Gathering data more frequently 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.

Receive mission updates by following and tagging the following 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 NOAA, and several universities and commercial partners. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch service.

Original posting…

The launch of NASA’s TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission is delayed due to a weather front that headed toward Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex-1 in Mahia, New Zealand.

Originally, Rocket Lab was targeting 9:00 p.m. EDT, Sunday, April 30 (1:00 p.m. New Zealand Standard Time, Monday, May 1) for the launch.

Rocket Lab will assess the weather as it evolves and will shortly confirm a new target date for the launch.

This launch is the first of two planned launches, each sending a pair of smallsats to LEO.

TROPICS will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification.

ThrustMe and Turion Space have announced the selection of the ThrustMe’s iodine electric propulsion system for the DROID.002 spacecraft.

Turion Space will integrate several ThrustMe NPT30-I2-1.5U thrusters to enable the maneuverability for orbit raising and end-of-life disposal to its space-debris observation and characterization mission. The DROID.002 mission serves as the initial asset of a small constellation designed to provide continuous debris monitoring and alert services, known as “resiliency” services.

The mission also aims to generate a deeper understanding of space debris, assisting LEO operators and other debris mitigation companies. To ensure the success of the mission, it will rely on ThrustMe’s NPT30-I2-1.5U thrusters as a key component.

Designed for the nexgen of industrialized satellites, the NPT30-I2 series is composed of intelligent, turnkey, electric propulsion systems that uses solid iodine propellant for satellites ranging from 10 to 300 kg. It provides the high total impulse required by these satellites for deployment, significant orbit changes, collision avoidance maneuvers, and end-of-life removal to minimize space debris and free up critical operational orbits.

This contract confirms ThrustMe’s electric propulsion systems market fit in a worldwide competitive environment and extend the company footprint in the U.S. and adds up to the undisclosed international and U.S. contracts won by ThrustMe. With seven systems already in space. and more than 80 orders, the ThrustMe production line is up with a capacity of 365 propulsion systems per year to be reached by Q1 2024.

“Incorporating ThrustMe’s propulsion into our satellites will enable us to efficiently maneuver to higher orbits where the debris is more prevalent and less tracked. The very high total impulse packed into the 1.5U volume was decisive in the process of choosing the NPT30-I2-1.5U for our satellites.”
— Ryan Westerdahl, co-founder and CEO of Turion Space

“We are very happy to provide our propulsion systems to Turion Space. Their mission is very important for the industry and aligned with our ambition to enable a sustainable use of space.”
— Ane Aanesland, co-founder and CEO of ThrustMe

ThrustMe is the go-to provider of high-performing in-orbit space propulsion and space hardware testing solutions for customers across the globe. It offers a portfolio of disruptive, deeply integrated and smart in-orbit space propulsion solutions designed for the new industrialized constellation space era. The company made the world’s first demonstration of an iodine-fueled electric propulsion system in space —- an achievement the space industry has tried to reach for more than 60 years. ThrustMe is now delivering propulsion systems to major satellite constellations and is offering support, from ground testing to on-orbit maneuvering strategies.

Turion Space was formed with the vision of building the technology required for humanity’s interplanetary future. To achieve this goal, Turion Space is building LEO spacecraft to move things around in space and gather Space Domain Awareness (SDA) data, ensuring continuous value generation. Turion Space aims to build the highest delta-V per dollar space transport vehicles and is launching the DROID.001 mission in 2023 and DROID.002 in 2024.

Wyvern‘s Dragonette-001 satellite, also known as EPICHyper-1, was recently launched on April 14th, 2023, as one of the smallsat payloads on the SpaceX Transporter 7 mission, a dedicated, rideshare flight that carried dozens of smallsats to orbit for commercial and government customers.

Wyvern’s vision is to gather actionable intelligence from space anywhere in the solar system to enable a sustainable future for humanity. The company plans to achieve this vision by creating a constellation of satellites that provide valuable data and insights for a wide range of industries.

The 6U satellite, built by AAC Clyde Space, represents a significant milestone for Wyvern, as it provides the company with exclusive access to much-needed hyperspectral EO data under a Space Data as a Service (SDaaS) deal.

Dragonette-001 is a hyperspectral satellite that will provide valuable data for agriculture, environmental monitoring and a variety of other industries. Hyperspectral imaging captures information from a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum and breaks it up into fine slices, allowing for enhanced, spectral detail.

Dragonette-001 can capture data from 23 bands at a 5.3-meter pixel resolution, which enables the detection of subtle differences in the spectral signature of various materials. This ability to see finer details within the electromagnetic spectrum will allow Wyvern’s customers to identify and classify objects on the ground.

This launch is one of the three 6U satellites that Wyvern has planned for launch in 2023. The company partnered with AAC Clyde Space on this project that represents a significant milestone for both companies. Wyvern looks forward to continuing this partnership to deliver innovative solutions to customers.

Wyvern is a Canadian-based geospatial data provider that was founded in 2018 by four University of Alberta graduates (Chris Robson ‘16 BSc, ‘18 MSc, Kurtis Broda ‘15 BSc, ‘17 MSc, Kristen Cote ‘16 BSc, Callie Lissinna ‘21 BSc). Passionate about space, satellites, and science, the young students saw the potential hyperspectral imaging has to change the way the Earth is viewed and started this company to provide customers with finely detailed imagery.

After the previous launch target date was changed due to weather conditions in New Zealand, NASA and Rocket Lab are now targeting 9:00 p.m., EDT, Sunday, May 7th, (1 p.m. Monday, May 8, New Zealand Standard Time), 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 starting approximately 20 minutes prior to launch. Coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, the agency’s website as well as the Rocket Lab launch website.

A second launch from Rocket Lab will carry two additional CubeSats, with exact launch times contingent on the date and time of the first launch.

TROPICS is a constellation of four identical CubeSats designed to observe tropical cyclones from LEO, making observations more frequently than current weather tracking satellites. Gathering data more frequently 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.

Receive mission updates by following and tagging the following 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 NOAA, and several universities and commercial partners. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch service.

Original posting…

The launch of NASA’s TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission is delayed due to a weather front that headed toward Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex-1 in Mahia, New Zealand.

Originally, Rocket Lab was targeting 9:00 p.m. EDT, Sunday, April 30 (1:00 p.m. New Zealand Standard Time, Monday, May 1) for the launch.

Rocket Lab will assess the weather as it evolves and will shortly confirm a new target date for the launch.

This launch is the first of two planned launches, each sending a pair of smallsats to LEO.

TROPICS will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification.