Rocket Lab Launches NASA Satellites to Study Hurricanes From Space

Rocket Lab this weekend successfully completed the first of two launches to deploy tropical cyclone-monitoring satellites for NASA.

The “Rocket Like a Hurricane” spacecraft lifted off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula on Monday morning local time, carrying two of four CubeSats that comprise the TROPICS constellation.

The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity (TROPICS), with a Constellation of Smallsats, will monitor formation and evolution of tropical cyclones—including hurricanes—and provide updated observations of storm intensity.

Tweet(Opens in a new window)

Part of NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder Program, the constellation requires precision to ensure each pair of CubeSats reaches specific, unique orbits over Earth’s tropics, allowing the satellites to travel over any given storm about once an hour (six times faster than most current weather-tracking systems).

Such a high “revisit rate,” according to Rocket Lab(Opens in a new window), should help scientists better understand the processes that affect high-impact storms, ultimately improving modelling and predictions.

“The TROPICS constellation has the real potential to save lives by providing more timely data about storm intensity and providing advanced 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,” Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said in a statement.

All four TROPICS satellites must reach operational orbit within 60 days of each other. With the first batch in place, the second launch, dubbed “Coming to a Storm Near You,” is expected to launch in approximately two weeks.

“Rocket Like a Hurricane” marks Rocket Lab’s fourth mission of 2023, and brings its total number of satellites launched to orbit to 161.

“We are extremely proud of all our partners […] for successfully executing on this first launch,” said Ben Kim, TROPICS program executive of NASA’s Earth Science Division. “We look forward to the entire constellation being on-orbit to realize the benefits for the agency, as well as for our colleagues around the world.”