Launch of Cyclone-Tracking TROPICS CubeSats from New Zealand (Official NASA Broadcast)

The first pair of the agency’s TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) lifted off aboard an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 Pad B in Māhia, New Zealand. Team members successfully sent commands to the first CubeSat at 1:48 a.m. EDT, May 8. Subsequently, they established communications with the second CubeSat at 6:31 a.m. EDT.   TROPICS is a constellation of four identical CubeSats designed to observe tropical cyclones in a unique, inclined low Earth orbit over Earth’s tropics – an orbit that allows them to travel over any given storm about once an hour. Current weather tracking satellites have a timing of about once every six hours.

What is said in the film

It is 40 minutes past midday here at rocket lab's mission control center in auckland, new zealand, where launched operations are well underway in the lead up to al 36th electron launch hello and welcome to our live broadcast for rocket like a hurricane, a dedicated mission vanessa to launch the tropics constellation of hurricane monitoring satellites. Today's mission is flying from pet be at rocket lab launched conflicts one our private spaceport on the mahia peninsula in new zealand t zero for rocket like a hurricane is set for one p. m. Local time and for our friends at nestle watching in the united states, that translates to nine in the evening, eastern time, six pm pacific and a very early one am utc. My name is muriel baker.

And I'm keegan black and we are thrilled to be with you for today's mission launching safety operations teams at the range of ma here and here in rocket lab's mission control center in auckland are heading into the final t minus 18 minutes of the countdown after methodically proceeding with final checks and preparations for electron necessary headlights and the launch pad to make sure all systems are healthy and ready for launch. We have an exciting pair of satellites from nesa on electron today. The 23 you cube sets will begin a new constellation in low earth orbit to monitor tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons around the world. Hence the tropics name, which stands for time resolved observations of precipitation structure and storm intensity with a constellation of small sets. Another great nesa acronym.

Today's mission is the first of two dedicated electron launches to deploy the constellation. This first launch has been dubbed by vanessa team as rocket like a hurricane and it about two weeks time will be following up with a second launch. That mission has been affectionately called coming to a storm near you. Both missions are heading to a 550 combat is circular altitude above earth and inclination of about 30 degrees . This is a unique orbit best reached with the dedicated launch, making electron, the ideal launch vehicle to deploy tropics.

Here's more from nasa about tropics, and it's important not just to nasa's earth science team, but for all of us, eager to have more accurate and more timely information on powerful storms when they come away. Here's the question. How does a group of satellites each no more than a foot long help improve forecasts for tropical storms and hurricanes? Let's take a look. Hurricanes are some of the most powerful and destructive weather events on earth.

2020 atlantic hurricane season was brutal, producing a record breaking 30 name storms. What's more 10 of those storms were characterized as rapidly intensifying. Some throttling up by 100 mph in under two days, weather satellites will generally measure a storm only once every few hours, leaving gaps in coverage where a storm made quickly strengthened. To help fill this observation gap. Nasa is launching tropics a collection of satellites designed to make a big impact on our understanding of damaging storms.

Their mission. Provide near hourly observations of a storm's precipitation, temperature and humidity, allowing scientists to better understand what drives the storms intensification. To achieve this. Researchers at mit lincoln laboratory developed a miniaturized microwave radiometer. That's about the size of a cup of coffee.

This small instrument will measure storm strength by detecting the thermal radiation naturally emitted by the oxygen and water vapor in the air. As earth's climate continues to change cost effective, powerful satellites like tropics will be an important tool to help us better observed developments driving rapid changes in powerful storms. And help forecasters better predict and prepare for the weather ahead. Tropics has been a massive team effort to get the satellites from idea to the launch pad with the science team led by the lincoln laboratory at the massachusetts institute of technology and others, including researchers from the nest, goddard space flight center, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, or noah, and several universities and commercial partners. Few people have been closer to this mission , then stuart cook.

He is one of the mission managers for the tropics program, and we were lucky enough to catch up with stuart earlier in the week at our production complex, let's take a look. My name is stuart cook, and I worked for nasa. Langley research center. My job . Tyler's I'm the mission manager for the tropics project.

Think about four satellites. Orbiting the earth. These satellites are looking down. At clouds at storms at hurricanes and they're looking to see how they form how they intensify or how they get stronger. So with tropics we have four cube sets are gonna be orbiting the earth.

They're about the size of a local branch of very small compared to your traditional satellites and the beauty of having four of these things orbiting the earth that they can revisit a storm every hour, which is very different from how traditional satellites do it. They made some by the same storm. Once every 10 hours. Data from tropics. We're going to feed that to our partners.

Which are like noah, the national hurricane center. They take it and it helps them improve their hurricane forecasting hurricane modeling. So when you think about it from the end users and you look at the tv and you say, hey, hurricanes coming up the coast of florida. It says the storm could go this direction. It could go this direction.

We have improved models that would have a tighter band of where that storm is going to be. It's given better forecasts information to not only noah, but to the viewers. So for the first launches, you know we're going to have a launch window, maybe two hours. It says it can launch between one and three. P.

m. New zealand time the second launch. There's a lot of synchronization that has to happen, so it's pretty exciting for a company like rocket lab to be able to do that with that kind of precision to help us meet our mission goals. During the launch will be in the missile control center here, so that will be a new experience. I'll be on console to give the roll call for all systems go for the payloads were just so excited to really see it happen now.

Yeah I can't just continue my excitement because it's just a lot of anticipation leading up to this moment. Very much looking forward to delivering those spacecraft to their new home in orbit, launching in just 13 minutes time right now in the countdown, we are at the 13 minute mark in counting as our launch team gets into the final go, no go. Poll for today's launch launch director today is joseph karpenko. He will run through the list of operators at the range here in michigan troll two chicken on whether all systems are go for liftoff. Let's bring up mission control audio now to hear the pole get underway.

All operators. This is the l d on mission. Proceeding with the go no go sequence stage. Status. Go avionics avionics.

Let's go. Gnc jeans here. Schools become 21. Tijuana's go gc gc is going peeler. Pls go rso ourselves.

Go met us go! Mm. Mm. Escape. L.

D to at least that this girl. The go. No, go sequence is complete . We are now team managed. 11 minutes, 30 seconds and counting .

We are go for terminal count at t minus 10 minutes from this time, the three word hold procedure is in effect. Great news there from mission control . We are go for launch and ready to rock it like a hurricane for today's first tropics launched for nasa. You also heard our launch director confirm today's lift off target, which is set for one p. m.

Local time or nine pm and six pm eastern and pacific looking back at the launchpad as we countdown to liftoff, let's take you through. The electron rocket carrying the tropics followed. Electron is a two stage to orbit liquid field launch vehicle designed specifically for small satellite missions. At the bottom of the first stage is where we have 93 d printed rutherford engines located 1/10 space optimist rutherford engine takes us to orbit with our second stage, the rutherford engines use liquid oxygen and rp one kerosene as its propellant and oxidizer and these are fed into the engine's combustion chamber in a world first way using electric pumps powered by batteries. Electron structure is made of a carbon composite material a super strong yet very lightweight material that gives our rocket it's sleek black.

Look it's white now because of the cold liquid oxygen in electrons tanks, which causes moisture to compensate as ice on the outside of the rocket, the tropics, satellites mounted to the rockets kick stage inside electrons fearing or nose cone around three minutes into flight. That fairing will separate into two halves, exposing the satellites to space ready for deployment. This mission, though, is a little different to a standard electron launch after this point, because typically, electron second stage would take us to an elliptical orbit around earth. And then the kick state would complete a final circular ization burn with its tiny three d printed curie engine. But for tropics, the second stage will be used to circular rise.

The orbit and the kick stage will instead perform an inclination change to place the two tropics cube sets into a precision orbital position. Avionics l d mission. L d avionics. Yes sir. Please proceed with sequence 56 the avionics terminal check sequence sequence of 56 work.

Yes, panda switched to high power for flight. Stage l d on mission. And the stage. Please proceed with sequences 57 after today's first pair of tropic satellites are deployed the second set on our next electron rocket must be launched soon after so that the constellation is up and running in time for this year's atlantic hurricane season beginning in june. So even before we have lift off today, we know our second rocket will be rolling out to the pad for launch in approximately two weeks from now.

The tropics launches won't be our fastest launch turnaround to date. That record is just seven days, which we achieved earlier this year with the mission from l. C two in virginia that was swiftly followed up days later with the launch from l. C one in new zealand. But two weeks between dedicates small set missions is something that just did not exist for small sets prior to electron.

Part of the reason we can deliver these missions one after the other so quickly is down to our comprehensive parallel test programs to prepare multiple electrons for the big day rocket lab mission manager jane mcnicol has been across the entire campaign for tropics she has more to share on what's involved in the lead up to launch. My name is jane mcnichol. I'm a mission manager at rocket lab, and I'm the mission manager for the two tropics missions, so as we know the number of hurricanes were experiencing every year is increasing due to climate change and the intensity of these storms is also increasing the current technology that we have on orbit to monitor hurricane development. They only be able to check in on these storms every couple of hours, but within that time we might see a storm increase in intensity quite a bit. Tropics is a constellation of four cube sats that will be able to monitor near hourly.

These intense tropical storms in terms of precipitation. Temperature and humidity and collect this data for us, and this data has the potential to save lives and livelihoods, so it very well aligned with rocket lab's mission to improve life on earth by enabling access to space. Before the launch vehicle even makes it to the large site on lunch day it undergoes months of rigorous testing, starting with small component testing, like our avionics up into large stack testing or hot fire testing of our engines at our test sites, and then a full end to end what dress rehearsal or practice for launch day, and this is all part of making electron, the most reliable small launcher on the market. Once the satellites arrive at the launch site, the satellite team from nasa and mit lincoln laboratories will be inspecting and doing some final checks on the satellites to make sure that they're ready to be installed on the launch vehicle. In parallel with those texts.

Rocket lab is also running additional tests on the launch vehicle, which is fully delivered to the launch site by this time. Um will be doing integrated testing and to end of our avionics systems and preparing for the satellites to be integrated onto the kick stage. Then we will encapsulate the spacecraft and in great the full launch vehicle. Stage one stage two, stage three and roll out for wet dress rehearsal dress rehearsal is basically a practice for launch day where we perform all of the operations like we would on day of launch, including fueling the vehicle, and this gives us extra assurance that everything will go according to plan on launch day, then we'll review the data from that test and proceed with launch. Everyone has a hand in helping electronic get to the pad for launch day, starting with our design team into our manufacturing team, as well as our tests and l c one team all the way to mission control.

And the engineer is there behind me . Um this is a team of dedicated engineers who have gained their experience over 30 plus launches here at rocket lab. So as a mission manager. That means that I get to work closely with our customer, nasa and m I t lincoln laboratories and I am so excited for launch day and being able to tell them that we have successfully deployed their satellites in orbit and see the real work, begin there for them and be able to see the excitement. Not just once, but twice because we've got to back to back missions coming up so I can't wait for lunch day.

I'm really psyched about it. As we approach t minus four minutes to liftoff. Let's take you through the last moments before those nine rutherford engines ignite two minutes before lift off the ground palace supply at the launchpad is disabled and electron switches to internal power. Our launch safety system, the fts will be enabled at the same time, and we can expect to hear both of those calls from our operators in mission control one after the other. The liquid oxygen supply valves on stages one and two closed about 10.

Seconds later with another operator expected to confirm on comms that locks load is complete under a minute to launch lift off the propellant tanks will be at their optimum pressure levels for launch. Ground control, will soon afterward confirmed the water system at the launchpad is ready to be activated for when the engines on the rockets ignite for launch. This is what will cause the large white cloud of water vapor at liftoff. At t minus 10 seconds. The launch director will count down with the mission clock to lift off the engines will ignite at t minus three seconds and the launchpads hold down mechanisms will be released.

Then electron will take to the skies for its 36th launch for this tropics mission to space. Will bring up the audio channels from mission control now to listen in and then we'll be back with you after liftoff. All operators. Ld on mission we are go for auto sequence started t minus two minutes. Lds go for lunch.

Vehicles on internal power. Fts is green and enabled for flight. That is complete system isn't research. Anti gathering is disabled. Stage one stage two breast for flight.

Engine virgin levels. Still use activated. T minus 20 seconds and counting. 10 987. For three.

Two. One. Hvb discharges nominal. Electron is soaring through the sky right now, after lifting off from pet be at launch complex one now on its way to low earth orbit vanessa and tropics, the first launch milestone the rocket will pass through is mexican you when the forces against electron are at their peak as the rocket moves quickly through the atmosphere, mission control is expected to call that out on the net shortly. Clearly next cube.

Great news there with max. Q and onward and upward for electron. It is only been about a minute since liftoff and already in the rocket is that it speeds of over 2000 kilometers an hour, a mere fraction of the 27,000 plus kilometers an hour. That is orbital velocity, which will reach ahead of payload deployment in the next 30 minutes or so. Next, though, is the separation of the rocket between stages one and two.

For that to happen, we first need the nine rutherford engines currently burning hot to shut down an action called main engine cut off or miko, then a few moments later stages one and two will spring apart. We'll hear that called out as stage separation than the single space optimized brotherhood engine on the second stage will light up and carry on with the tropics mission. Those milestones should be taking place at around t plus 2. 5 minutes. 15 seconds to mico.

Entered burnout to take mode. Confirm. Operation successful. Ignition. Exactly as we expected.

There goes miko stage separation, and we can now see that the relevant engine nozzle is glowing hot on the second stage. The tropics satellites remain in good health on the electron. And soon the rockets onboard computer will command the fairing to separate and fall away. Now that we're in the vacuum of space tropics doesn't need the protection of the fairing anymore. So we get rid of that dead weight to maximize fuel efficiency on the way to orbit.

Fearing separation successful. If you're looking at the screen at the right moment, just there. You will have seen those two nose cone halves falling away as planned with the fairing separation electronic performing nominally on its way to orbit with a few minutes between now and our next mission. Milestone the battery hot swap for a second stage engine at around six minutes 52 seconds into flight. This nominal.

It's super nominal. Electron and tropics and moving at a good pace right now, well over 8000 kilometers an hour at the t plus four minute mark into the mission. The vehicle is currently at 100 and 34. Kilometers in altitude with another 357. Kilometers to go until we reach 550 kilometer destination.

Getting there is only one part of the journey, though, as tropics won't be released immediately at that. 550 kilometer first touch, the satellites will remain attached to the rocket's third stage and complete a full loop of earth before they can be deployed on their home orbit will explain that process in more detail later when we get closer to that point of the mission. Gribble shall hold a nominal. A quick check of the dials on l screen. Tell us that all remains nominal for electron and tropics.

The rocket is moving steadily at more than 9000 kilometers an hour and we are inching closer to that 550 kilometer mark. Now that electron has passed more than 300 kilometers altitude to keep the mission running smoothly will have another launch milestone coming up soon . It is called the battery hot swap, and it's essential to keeping our rutherford engine running all the way to the missions. Altitude destination. That action is due at around six minutes and 52 seconds in flight.

So in just another one minute also. After snowden 200 seconds remaining. What we call the battery hot swap maneuver is a unique action for our electron rocket when the first two battery packs supplying power to our electoral pumps on stage too close to being drained electron switches to a fresh battery that will ensure rather for the rutherford engine lasts the distance to orbit. It's a move. Our rocket has performed countless times before, but it is a move unique to electron.

Battery hot swap is on its way in just a few moments, so we'll bring up the emission control comes again to listen out for the call. Throttling down. Successful. Better jettisoned just as it was planned. The rutherford has switched to its new power source with the battery hot swap and is continuing nominally with the tropics mission.

There are a few minutes left in the engines burn time before the second stage completes its final actions for the mission, shutting down rutherford and then separating from the third stage. Hvb discharge holding nominal. How beautiful as some of these views from electron this nominal rutherford burn marks our 360th engine in space, inching us closer to our 400 engine milestone expected on our 40th electron launch. In fact, one of those engines to fly next will be an engine that we have already launched before. We are taking the next major step in evolving electron into a reusable rocket by launching a pre flown rutherford engine on one of our missions later this year.

That engine which flew on out there and back again mission in may 2022. Has undergone the same extensive testing and acceptance processes as any newly built engine and has performed flawlessly throughout multiple full mission duration engine tests, and we are very excited to see that engine back on the pet soon. But back to tropics and that second stage is performing well in the tropics. Payload is healthy as both continue traveling at speeds of over 19,000 kilometers per hour. Burnout to take mode.

Alright at t plus eight minutes 56 seconds into this mission, vanessa and we are nearly in orbit. In a few moments, we'll be able to see that red hot engine nozzle there. Start to collect turn cold. Once the engine on stage two shuts down, mission control will call out these actions. Listen out for seiko confirmed on the nets coming up shortly.

Secret, confirm. There it is from mission control, met with a good cheer from our teams seek. Oh, and stage separation confirmed. That means I kick stage and tropic satellites and now in their phasing orbit of earth, it's been a perfectly nominal mission so far, but electrons work isn't quite done yet. That's right.

Tropics is a bit different to our usual launches for this mission, the second stage, sending the kick state directly into a circular orbit rather than the kick stage, taking the satellites on its usual elliptical journey around earth first. List. Then once the kick stage passes the equator at what is called the ascending node, the kick stages curie engine lights up to change its inclination to end up in tropics desired orbit. So while we wait for that, curie burn, we'll take a short break on the livestream now and join you. Then to hear those final confirmations come through from mission control will be back soon.

Through. Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. Hmm.

Yeah. 540. Most questions. Okay? Great to have you back with us for the webcast about 36 electron launch the rocket like a hurricane mission to deliver the first pair of tropic satellites to orbit for nasa.

We had a great lift off from the pet at launch complex one today we're electron cleared. The mahia peninsula quickly invade its way northeast and successfully passed through early launch milestones like max q main engine cut off and separation of the first end ticket stage. The second stage performed excellently through its launch milestones to including battery hot swap in second engine cut off before t plus 10 minutes into the mission . Now we are here with the kick stage carrying the tropic satellites to their 550 kilometer altitude destination. As we come up to curie engine burn for that final inclination change.

Tropics will then be released from their canister rise. Satellite dispenses the safety housing made by us for this pair of tropic small sets will have official confirmation of those actions taking place once the kick stage passes over the next ground station off the coast of portugal. But we'll be following along with the mission in real time with this animation of tropics journey on the kick stage, so we'll bring up the comms channels to listen in on the final few moments of this tropics mission. Let's listen in. Expected nominal career condition.

Where they're from mission control that the kerry engine is expected to have now ignited. This engine is relatable and gimbals to orient the kick stage in a very precise manner, allowing our customers pinpoint accuracy for payload deployment listening, and now for the next call of curry shut down ahead of payload deployment. As mariel mentioned earlier. We're currently waiting for the curie engine shutdown, followed by the call for payload deployment for the first pair of tropics headlights for nasa to three. You cube sets each not much bigger than a loaf of bread and these small but extremely powerful satellites will begin a new constellation in low earth orbit to monitor tropical cyclones around the world.

Tropics aims to measure temperature, humidity and precipitation so that we can better understand the evolution and structure of storms and doing so, with a high revisit right within the hour will be invaluable. Kerry engine shutdown is expected at around a few minutes from now, actually, so not long to go. And then a few seconds later, we should hear expected nominal payload deployment from mission control. Let's check back in. Expected.

Not curious. Shut down. There goes curie engine shutdown, listening in now for payload deployment. Expected nominal payload deployment. And there is the call out from mission control.

Expected nominal payload deployment. Congratulations nesa end the tropics team and welcome to your new home in orbit when they kick stage passes over the next ground station at azores. We expect to receive the full telemetry package that confirms everything you've just heard from mission control. Look to our social media channels for that update within the hour as we close out this broadcast for our 36th electron launch and we'll be back to do it all over again. In with nasa for our second launch for the tropics mission.

To place another pair of small sets on orbit for this important constellation coming to a storm near you, both literally and figuratively as our next launches. Mission name is set to fly from launch complex one in just a couple of weeks time to help ensure nasa's constellation is up and running in time ready for this year's hurricane season set to begin on june 1st. We're going to end the broadcast now, but you can always keep in touch with us and stay in outlaw bit by following us on social media. To see hear and learn about what we do here at rocket lab and to follow along nasa's tropics mission you can head to blogs dot nesa dot gov forward slash small satellites. Thank you so much for joining us.

This is rocket lab mission control signing off. Yeah.

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