INCUS Mission Microsatellite Contract Awarded
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has awarded a contract to Blue Canyon Technologies, a Raytheon subsidiary, for the manufacture of three microsatellites to support the INCUS mission.
“INCUS fills an important niche to help us understand extreme weather and its impact on climate models – all of which serves to provide crucial information needed to mitigate weather and climate effects on our communities.”
Thomas Zurbuchen.
The INCUS (Investigation of Convective Updrafts) mission – led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory – aims to better understand the complex dynamics of thunderstorms and their impact on Earth's climate and weather models.
Blue Canyon's microsats will fly in tandem coordination, each displaying a dynamic atmospheric radar and dynamic microwave radiometer measuring the atmospheric conditions of Earth.
"BCT's successful science exploration programs and our experience controlling large flexible structures will be key to supporting this critical science mission," said Jeff Schrader, president of Blue Canyon Technologies.
Blue Canyon's work will be performed at its Crescent Constellation Factory located in Lafayette, Colorado.
INCUS Mission Scheduled for 2027 Launch
The INCUS mission is tentatively scheduled for launch in 2027. NASA selected INCUS through the agency’s Earth Venture Mission-3 (EVM-3) solicitation that sought complete, space-based investigations to address important science questions and produce data of societal relevance within the Earth science field. NASA received 12 proposals for EVM-3 missions in March 2021. After detailed review by panels of scientists and engineers, the agency selected INCUS to continue into development.
“Every one of our Earth science missions is carefully chosen to add to a robust portfolio of research about the planet we live on,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington when the program was announced in November 2021. “INCUS fills an important niche to help us understand extreme weather and its impact on climate models – all of which serves to provide crucial information needed to mitigate weather and climate effects on our communities.”
The INCUS mission aims to directly address why convective storms, heavy precipitation, and clouds occur exactly when and where they form. The investigation stems from the 2017 Earth Science Decadal Survey by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which lays out ambitious, but critically necessary, research and observation guidance.
(Source: Blue Canyon news release. Additional information from JPL. Image provided)