Electron launches NASA TROPICS

Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle launched the “Rocket Like a Hurricane” mission, the first pair of CubeSats for NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS), from Pad B at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, on 8 May 2023, at 01:00 UTC (13:00 NZST). Credit: NASA/Rocket Lab