Rocket Lab's first attempt to launch the second of two cubesats for NASA's PREFIRE climate change mission ended Friday (May 31).
The Electron rocket topped with the small satellite was about to lift off from Rocket Lab's site in New Zealand at 10:46 PM EDT (0246 GMT or 2:46 PM local time on June 1), until an “out-of-family sensor” appeared. . Reading” near the end of the launch window led to a rub.
Rocket Lab will announce a new target launch time and date when they are ready. There are many opportunities in the coming days.
Related: NASA's twin spacecraft will go to the ends of the Earth to fight climate change
PREFIRE is an abbreviation for “Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-Infrared Experiment.” As the name suggests, the mission will study heat loss from Earth's polar regions, collecting data that will help scientists better understand our warming world.
“Much of the heat from the Arctic and Antarctica is emitted in the form of far-infrared radiation, but there is currently no detailed measurement of this type of energy,” Rocket Lab wrote in a report. Task description.
The company added: “The water vapor content in the atmosphere, in addition to the presence, structure, and composition of clouds, affects the amount of far-infrared radiation that leaks into space from the Earth’s poles.” “Data collected from PREFIRE will provide researchers with information about where and when far-infrared energy from the Arctic and Antarctic environments radiates into space.”
PREFIRE will collect this data using two shoebox-sized satellites. Rocket Lab launched its first satellite on May 25, sending it into a circular orbit 326 miles (525 kilometers) above Earth.
The second PREFIRE spacecraft will head to a slightly different orbit at the same altitude. If all goes according to plan, the duo's paths will cross every few hours near the planet's poles.
Rocket Lab is calling this second mission, which will be its 49th orbital launch to date, “PREFIRE and Ice.” The company called the launch on May 25 “Ready, Target, Pre.”
Rocket Lab is working to make the 59-foot (18-meter) Electron first stage reusable; The company has recovered boosters from the sea on several previous launches, but no such activity occurred for “Ready, Aim, PREFIRE,” and Rocket Lab did not mention the recovery component for “PREFIRE and Ice.”
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