Rocket Lab successfully launches 2 NASA storm-monitoring satellites
Rocket Lab launched two storm satellites into space for NASA on Monday.
Rocket Like A Hurricane launched shortly after 1 p.m. from Rocket Lab Complex 1 on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula eastern coast. Photo courtesy of Rocket Lab/Twitter
"The TROPICS constellation has the real potential to save lives by providing more timely data about storm intensity and providing advance warning to those in storm paths, so it's an immense privilege to have deployed these spacecraft to their precise orbits before the upcoming storm season," Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and chief executive, said in a statement.
"We're grateful to the NASA team for entrusting us with such a critical mission."
NASA confirmed in a statement that two TROPICS CubeSats had been successfully deployed and that its team was working toward signal acquisition, which could take some time to establish.
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The second pair of CubeSats are scheduled to launch aboard Rocket Lab's Coming To A Storm Near You rocket in about two weeks time, also from Mahia's Complex 1.
The launch comes nearly a year after California-based Astra failed to deploy two of the small weather satellites in what was to be the inauguration of the technology.
The launch is also Rocket Lab's fourth of the year and its 36th Electron mission overall.
The satellites are to be a part of a constellation of four that will help to monitor weather in the Tropics. Photo courtesy of Rocket Lab/Twitter
Rocket Lab launched two storm satellites into space for NASA on Monday.
Photo courtesy of Rocket Lab/Twitter
May 8 (UPI) -- U.S.-based Rocket Lab Electron successfully launched a pair of NASA storm-monitoring satellites from New Zealand on Monday.
The Rocket Like A Hurricane mission with two CubeSats on board launched shortly after 1 p.m. Monday from Rocket Lab Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula on the archipelago nation's east coast.
"After 36 launches, we're still not sick of this view," Rocket Lab said in the caption of a tweet with a photo of the rocket lifting off.
The mission deployed two of four CubeSats that will create a constellation of tropical cyclone monitoring satellites for NASA that are known by the acronym TROPICS, meaning Time-Resolved Observations of precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats.
According to NASA, the constellation with provide rapid-refresh microwave measurements over the tropics to better understand storm systems.
The satellites were launched on two separate orbital planes spaced 180 degrees opposite, Rocket Lab said in a statement, stating the unique orbits over Earth's tropics will allow the orbitals to traverse over any storm at an hour interval, which is better than the six hours of current weather tracking satellites.
May 8 (UPI) -- U.S.-based Rocket Lab Electron successfully launched a pair of NASA storm-monitoring satellites from New Zealand on Monday.
The Rocket Like A Hurricane mission with two CubeSats on board launched shortly after 1 p.m. Monday from Rocket Lab Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula on the archipelago nation's east coast.
"After 36 launches, we're still not sick of this view," Rocket Lab said in the caption of a tweet with a photo of the rocket lifting off.
The mission deployed two of four CubeSats that will create a constellation of tropical cyclone monitoring satellites for NASA that are known by the acronym TROPICS, meaning Time-Resolved Observations of precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats.
According to NASA, the constellation with provide rapid-refresh microwave measurements over the tropics to better understand storm systems.
The satellites were launched on two separate orbital planes spaced 180 degrees opposite, Rocket Lab said in a statement, stating the unique orbits over Earth's tropics will allow the orbitals to traverse over any storm at an hour interval, which is better than the six hours of current weather tracking satellites.
Rocket Like A Hurricane launched shortly after 1 p.m. from Rocket Lab Complex 1 on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula eastern coast. Photo courtesy of Rocket Lab/Twitter
"The TROPICS constellation has the real potential to save lives by providing more timely data about storm intensity and providing advance warning to those in storm paths, so it's an immense privilege to have deployed these spacecraft to their precise orbits before the upcoming storm season," Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and chief executive, said in a statement.
"We're grateful to the NASA team for entrusting us with such a critical mission."
NASA confirmed in a statement that two TROPICS CubeSats had been successfully deployed and that its team was working toward signal acquisition, which could take some time to establish.
RELATED SpaceX plans to light up night skies with early Thursday Falcon 9 launch
The second pair of CubeSats are scheduled to launch aboard Rocket Lab's Coming To A Storm Near You rocket in about two weeks time, also from Mahia's Complex 1.
The launch comes nearly a year after California-based Astra failed to deploy two of the small weather satellites in what was to be the inauguration of the technology.
The launch is also Rocket Lab's fourth of the year and its 36th Electron mission overall.
The satellites are to be a part of a constellation of four that will help to monitor weather in the Tropics. Photo courtesy of Rocket Lab/Twitter
The European Space Agency has released this detailed image of Earth from its Meteostat Third-Generation Imager-1 satellite showing detailed weather patterns in the atmosphere.
Photo Courtesy of European Space Agency
May 4 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency and Eumetsat on Thursday released a detailed image of the Earth and its weather patterns from the Meteostat Third Generation Imager-1 satellite.
The image, which was taken on March 18, shows cloud formations over large parts of Europe with details that were previously too small to capture in similar composite images.
"This image is a great example of what European cooperation in space can achieve. The level of detail MTG-I1's image reveals, unachievable over Europe and Africa from a geostationary orbit until now, will give us a greater understanding of our planet and the weather systems that shape it," said ESA Director of Earth Observation Programs Simonetta Cheli.
The image was taken by the MGT-I1's Flexible Combined Imager, which is capable of scanning one side of the Earth in ten minutes. The ESA hopes the FCI's capabilities will help create more accurate weather forecasts.
"This image represents not just what can be achieved through European expertise but our determination to ensure the benefits of new technology are felt by communities in Europe and beyond," Cheli added.
The satellite, which is built by the OHB consortium in partnership with Thales Alenia Space, was launched in December aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
The speed with which the FCI is able to scan the Earth means composite images can be strung together to show the motion of clouds and weather patterns. The ESA released an example showing 24 hours of weather patterns over Europe.
"It might sound odd to be so excited about a cloudy day in most of Europe. But the level of detail seen for the clouds in this image is extraordinarily important to weather forecasters," said Eumetsat Director General, Phil Evans.
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