Launch of Cyclone-Tracking TROPICS CubeSats from New Zealand, Pt. II (Official NASA Broadcast)

NASA and Rocket Lab will launch two small satellites to join two already in orbit for NASA’s TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission. Liftoff on an Electron rocket is targeted for no earlier than 12:00 a.m. EDT (0400 UTC) Thursday, May 25 from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex-1 in Māhia, New Zealand. The TROPICS mission will study the formation and development of tropical cyclones, making observations of temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and cloud ice more often than what is possible with current weather satellites. A recording of the May 7 TROPICS launch can be found at Image Credit: Rocket Lab