Communications Established with PREFIRE CubeSats
Spacecraft Developed by Blue Canyon Technologies
Communication has been established with both of the recently-launched PREFIRE CubeSats developed by RTX company Blue Canyon Technologies.
"Improving climate models can provide more accurate projections on the impacts of storm severity and frequency, as well as coastal erosion and flooding."
Chris Winslett, Blue Canyon Technologies
The PREFIRE mission will measure the amount of heat Earth emits into space from the Arctic and Antarctica.
Blue Canyon provided two heritage 6U CubeSats for the mission, which is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. Analysis of PREFIRE's measurements will inform climate and ice models, helping to improve projections of how a warming world will affect sea ice loss, ice sheet melt and sea level rise.
"Improving climate models can provide more accurate projections on the impacts of storm severity and frequency, as well as coastal erosion and flooding," said Chris Winslett, general manager for Blue Canyon Technologies.
The PREFIRE project was jointly developed by NASA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. JPL provided the thermal infrared spectrometer payload, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison will process the data collected by the instruments.