Final TROPICS Launch Now Set for May 25
The final TROPICS launch has been pushed back to May 25 by NASA and Rocket Lab. The mission had initially been scheduled to launch on May 22, but was scrubbed due to unfavorable weather conditions. A second attempt was planned on May 23, but weather again forced a delay in the launch.
Rocket Lab is continuing to assess the weather, and provide updates. The pair of spacecraft remain healthy and ready for launch on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand.
The first two CubeSats in the TROPICS constellation were successfully launched by Rocket Lab earlier this month. 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 launches.
Final TROPICS Launch will Complete Four-CubeSat Constellation
This final TROPICS launch is the second of two planned launches, each sending a pair of shoebox-sized satellites to low Earth orbit to make more frequent observations of tropical cyclones, which includes hurricanes and typhoons. TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification. The data will help scientists better understand the processes that effect these high-impact storms, ultimately leading to improved modeling and prediction.
The TROPICS mission will provide rapid-refresh microwave measurements over the tropics that can be used to observe the thermodynamics of the troposphere and precipitation structure for storm systems at the mesoscale and synoptic scale over the entire storm lifecycle. TROPICS comprises a constellation of CubeSats in three low-Earth orbital planes. Each CubeSat will host a high-performance radiometer scanning across the satellite track at 30 RPM to provide temperature profiles using seven channels near the 118.75 GHz oxygen absorption line, water vapor profiles using 3 channels near the 183 GHz water vapor absorption line, imagery in a single channel near 90 GHz for precipitation measurements, and a single channel at 205 GHz for cloud ice measurements.
This observing system offers an unprecedented combination of horizontal and temporal resolution to measure environmental and inner-core conditions for tropical cyclones (TCs) on a nearly global scale and is a profound leap forward in the temporal resolution of several key parameters needed for detailed study of high-impact meteorological events (TCs being the primary emphasis in this proposal). TROPICS will demonstrate that a constellation approach to Earth science can provide improved resolution, configurable coverage (tropics, near global, or global), flexibility, reliability, and launch access at extremely low cost, thereby serving as a model for future missions.
(Source: NASA news release. Images from file)