A Rocket Lab Electron lifts off March 5 (U.S. time) carrying a satellite for an undisclosed customer. Credit: Rocket Lab
WASHINGTON — NASA has selected Rocket Lab to launch a pair of science missions on three Electron rockets in 2027.
NASA announced June 25 it selected Rocket Lab to launch its Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer, or PolSIR, and Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor-2, or TSIS-2, missions on Electron rockets.
PolSIR consists of two 16U cubesats built by Blue Canyon Technologies that will measure the rise and fall of ice crystals in tropical clouds, as well as how those changes in ice affect storm development. The satellites will operate in separate orbits, each inclined at 52 degrees, allowing them to pass over the same area several hours apart to measure changes over the course of each day.
TSIS-2 is a spacecraft that will be the successor to TSIS-1, an instrument mounted on the exterior of the International Space Station. The spacecraft, built by General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, carries instruments to measure the amount of solar energy entering Earth’s atmosphere.
