After two holds in the countdown to the launch attempt, Rocket Lab has waived off the second launch for NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission.
Rocket Lab will assess the situation and provide more information and a new launch date when it is available.
Continue checking NASA’s small satellite missions blog for updates. You can stay connected with the mission on social media.
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket called “Ready, Aim, PREFIRE” is on the launch pad on May 25, 2024, with the first CubeSat ready to lift off from the company’s facility in Mahia, New Zealand.
The second of two launches of NASA’s PREFIRE mission is just minutes away!
The mission team has called out “go for launch” for Rocket Lab’s PREFIRE and Ice launch and should lift off in about five minutes. The CubeSat – about the size of a bread loaf – is set to launch aboard an Electron rocket, from Launch Complex 1 at Māhia, New Zealand.
The Electron is a vertically launched, two-stage rocket around 60 feet (18 meters) tall, with an exterior made of a carbon fiber composite, that can carry payloads weighing up to about 700 pounds (320 kilograms). Each Electron rocket uses nine Rutherford sea-level engines on its first stage, a single Rutherford vacuum engine on its second stage, and uses liquid oxygen and kerosene as propellants. The Rutherford engine is the world’s first 3D-printed, electric-pump-fed rocket engine.
The kick stage is a third stage of the Electron rocket used to circularize and raise orbits to deploy payloads to unique and precise orbital destinations, powered by Rocket Lab’s Curie engine.
Previous NASA missions that launched on an Electron rocket include NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats), CAPSTONE (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment), and multiple ELaNA (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) missions.
Some of the launch team members are located within Rocket Lab’s private range control facilities at Launch Complex 1on the North Island of New Zealand. From the launch site it is possible to reach orbital inclinations from sun-synchronous through to 30 degrees, enabling versatility for missions to low Earth orbit. NASA’s Launch Services Program team and spacecraft customer team will be on console at Rocket Lab Headquarters in Long Beach, California.
NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) CubeSats are encapsulated inside Rocket Lab Electron rocket payload fairings on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at the company’s facility in New Zealand. The agency’s PREFIRE mission to study heat loss to space in Earth’s polar regions will launch two CubeSats on two different flights aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rockets from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand. Photo credit: Rocket Lab
NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission will fly a pair of CubeSat satellites to probe a little-studied portion of the radiant energy emitted by Earth’s polar regions for clues about Arctic warming, sea ice loss, and ice sheet melting.
The Arctic and Antarctica help regulate Earth’s overall temperature by radiating back into space much of the excess energy from the Sun that is absorbed at lower latitudes. Current satellite instruments do not detect all the wavelengths of this energy radiating from polar regions. These CubeSats will fill in the current data gap at far-infrared wavelengths, collecting information that will help scientists diagnose the impact of this outgoing radiation on Earth’s energy balance.
The PREFIRE mission features miniaturized thermal infrared spectrometers on two CubeSat satellites, which are each about the size of a loaf of bread. Once deployed, the CubeSats will settle into a polar orbit to measure far-infrared emissions and how they change throughout the day and over seasons. The observations will allow scientists to assess how changes in thermal infrared emissions at the top of Earth’s atmosphere are related to changes in cloud cover and surface conditions below, such as the amount of sea ice and meltwater on the surface of the ice.
NASA’s PREFIRE mission will fill a gap in our understanding of how much of Earth’s heat is lost to space from the polar regions. By capturing measurements over the poles that can only be gathered from space, PREFIRE will enable researchers to systematically study the planet’s heat emissions in the far-infrared – with 10 times finer wavelength resolution than any previous sensor.
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket called “PREFIRE and Ice” is vertical on the pad in Mahia, New Zealand ahead of launching the second of two PREFIRE CubeSats for NASA on May 29, 2024. Photo Credit: Rocket Lab
Live coverage is underway for the second and final launch of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission. Rocket Lab is targeting Saturday, June 1, 3:13 p.m. NZST (11:13 p.m. EDT Friday, May 31). for the launch of “PREFIRE and Ice,” which will send the agency’s CubeSat to low Earth orbit.
Watch Rocket Lab’s launch broadcast on the company’s website.
Weather officials with Rocket Lab predict a 70% chance of favorable weather for launch of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission.
The launch team is monitoring the space weather as there has been a coronal mass ejection partially directed toward Earth that may induce a geomagnetic storm, though predictions are that the space weather conditions will be within the acceptable range for launch.
Continue checking NASA’s small satellite missions blog for updates or watch live coverage on Rocket Lab’s livestream. You can stay connected with the mission on social media.
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket called “PREFIRE and Ice” is vertical on the pad in Mahia, New Zealand ahead of launching the second of two PREFIRE CubeSats for NASA on May 29, 2024. Photo Credit: Rocket Lab
Launch day is here for NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission.
After the first PREFIRE CubeSat launched from Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand on May 25, a second satellite about the size of a shoebox waits on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket for liftoff on the mission’s second and final launch.
The launch, named “PREFIRE and Ice” by Rocket Lab, is targeted for Saturday, June 1, at 3:13 p.m. NZST (11:13 p.m. EDT Friday, May 31).
After this second launch and deployment, the two PREFIRE CubeSats will spend the next 10 months operating in asynchronous, near-polar orbits, and help to close a gap in our understanding of how much of Earth’s heat is lost to space from the Arctic and Antarctica. Analysis of PREFIRE measurements will inform climate and ice models, providing better projections of how a warming world will affect sea ice loss, ice sheet melt, and sea level rise.
NASA jointly developed PREFIRE with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and provided the instruments. Blue Canyon Technologies built the CubeSats, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison will process the collected data.
NASA’s Launch Services Program, based out of the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, selected Rocket Lab to launch both spacecraft as part of the agency’s VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract.
The first of two launches of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission lifted off on Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 at Māhia, New Zealand at 7:41 p.m. NZST Saturday, May 25 (3:41 a.m. EDT). Photo Credit: Rocket Lab
NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting Saturday, June 1, to launch the second CubeSat for the agency’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission. The launch window opens at 3 p.m. NZST, (11 p.m. EDT, Friday, May 31).
The first satellite successfully launched on 7:41 p.m. NZST May 25 (3:41 a.m. EDT) on an Electron rocket, called “Ready, Aim, PREFIRE,” from Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand. Rocket Lab is now processing the second Electron rocket, called “PREFIRE and Ice,” for launch also from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
These small PREFIRE satellites will fill a gap in our understanding of how much of Earth’s heat is lost to space from the polar regions. The mission will enable researchers to systematically study the planet’s heat emissions in the far-infrared – with 10 times finer wavelength resolution than any previous sensor, and provide clues about sea ice loss, icesheet melting, and a warming Arctic.
NASA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison jointly developed the PREFIRE mission. The agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, located in Southern California, manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and provided the spectrometers. Blue Canyon Technologies built the CubeSats, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison will process the collected data.
NASA’s Launch Services Program selected Rocket Lab to launch both spacecraft as part of the agency’s VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract. CubeSats like PREFIRE serve as an ideal platform for technical and architecture innovation, contributing to NASA’s science research and technology development.
Follow mission updates on NASA’s small satellite blog and stay connected with the mission on social media.
NASA’s PREFIRE CubeSat has deployed from the Rocket Lab’s Electron kick stage. The team will seek signal acquisition from the PREFIRE CubeSat and provide confirmation on the agency website when a signal is acquired. This concludes NASA’s live launch coverage of the mission.
NASA’s PREFIRE mission will help close a gap in our understanding of how much of Earth’s heat is lost to space from the Arctic and Antarctica. Analysis of PREFIRE measurements will inform climate and ice models, providing better projections of how a warming world will affect sea ice loss, ice sheet melt, and sea level rise.
Each PREFIRE satellite is fitted with an instrument called a thermal infrared spectrometer. The instrument contains specially-shaped mirrors and detectors for splitting and measuring infrared light and will make its readings using a device called a thermocouple, similar to sensors found in household thermostats. PREFIRE’s objectives are to supply scientists with new data on a range of climate variables, including atmospheric temperature, surface properties, water vapor, and clouds.
NASA jointly developed PREFIRE with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and provided the instruments. Blue Canyon Technologies built the CubeSats, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison is processing the data collected by the instruments. The science team includes members from JPL and the Universities of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Colorado.
NASA’s Launch Services Program, based out of the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manages the launch service as part of the agency’s VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) launch services contract.
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 1 at Māhia, New Zealand at 7:41 p.m. NZST Saturday, May 25 (3:41 a.m. EDT), on the first of two launches of NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission.
