Two TROPICS CubeSats take off on top of the Astra Rocket 3 from Space Launch Complex 46 on the Cape Canaveral space station. Credit: NASASpaceflight / Astra
NASA’s TROPICS mission is a constellation of state-of-the-art surveillance platforms that will measure high-resolution, unprecedented temperature, humidity, and precipitation.
Yesterday, June 12, 2022, two TROPICS CubeSats took off on top of the Astra Rocket 3 from Space Launch Complex 46 at the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida. The launch took place at approximately 13:43 EDT. At first things looked good, but after a nominal first flight, the upper stage of the rocket shut down early and failed to deliver TROPICS CubeSats into orbit.
Shortly after the failure, Astra tweeted: “We had a nominal flight on the first stage. The upper stage was shut down early and we did not deliver the payload into orbit. We shared our regrets with @NASA and the payload team. More information will be provided once we have completed a full review of the data. “
Three pairs of satellites make up the constellation TROPICS and will work together to provide microwave observations of Earth’s storms, measuring rainfall, temperature and humidity as often as every 50 minutes. Credit: NASA
NASA says it is disappointed with the loss of both TROPICS CubeSat, the mission is part of NASA’s Earth Venture program, which provides opportunities for cheaper and riskier missions. Despite the loss of the first two of the six satellites, the constellation TROPICS will still meet its scientific goals with the remaining four CubeSat in two orbits. With four satellites, TROPICS will still provide improved observations of tropical cyclones with time resolution compared to traditional observation methods.
TROPICS is an Earth Entrepreneurship Mission – science-driven, competitively selected, low-cost missions that provide an opportunity to invest in innovative Earth sciences to improve our ability to better understand the current state of the Earth’s system and enable continuous improving the forecasting of future changes.
The rocket camera shows a jet of exhaust gases at the moment when the engine is turned off early. Credit: NASASpaceflight / Astra
As the agency works with emerging launch providers for cost-effective space launch capabilities, these types of missions are important for expanding our scientific knowledge while promoting the commercial launch industry in the United States.
As a mission licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the FAA and Astra will lead the investigation to find out what happened during the launch of TROPICS-1. NASA will provide the necessary expertise, but expects to halt efforts to launch with Astra while an investigation is underway to ensure we move forward when we are ready.
NASA’s launch program, which manages the mission’s launch service, continues to work with emerging launch providers to deliver low-cost scientific missions into orbit with contracts that are in line with commercial practices, using less oversight. NASA to achieve lower launch costs. Class D small satellites and payloads carry relatively high risk and serve as an ideal platform for technical and architectural innovation, contributing to NASA’s research and technological development.
Thanks to the transparency shown by Astra, NASA is involved in the investigation into the previous launch of Astra. We also participated in discussions about lessons learned and corrective actions. We are aware of the risks inherent in a new startup provider and will provide our assistance if needed.
NASASpaceflight and Astra have partnered to broadcast this mission.
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