Editor’s note: This release was updated June 6, 2024, to correct the launch time in the photo caption.
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand at 3:15 p.m. NZST, June 5, 2024, carrying a small satellite for NASA’s PREFIRE mission.
The CubeSat launched on top Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand, and follows the May 25 launch of the first PREFIRE CubeSat. After a 30-day checkout period, when engineers and scientists confirm both CubeSats are operating normally, the mission is expected to operate for 10 months.
Capitalizing on NASA’s unique vantage point in space, PREFIRE will help understand the balance between incoming heat energy from the Sun and the outgoing heat given off at Earth’s poles. The Arctic and Antarctica act something like the radiator in a car’s engine shedding much of the heat initially absorbed at the tropics back into space. The majority of that heat is emitted as far-infrared radiation.
“Climate change is reshaping our environment and atmosphere in ways that we need to prepare for,” said Brian Drouin, PREFIRE’s deputy principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “This mission will give us new measurements of the far-infrared wavelengths being emitted from Earth’s poles, which we can use to improve climate and weather models and help people around the world deal with the consequences of climate change.
PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy In The Far-Infrared
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NASA launches second small climate satellite to study Earth's polesData from the pair of CubeSats will offer new insights into how much heat the Arctic and Antarctica radiate into space and how this influences global climate.
Read more »
NASA Launches Small Climate Satellite to Study Earth’s PolesThe first of a pair of climate satellites designed to study heat emissions at Earth’s poles for NASA is in orbit after lifting off atop Rocket Lab’s Electron
Read more »
NASA says Boeing's Starliner crew capsule safe to fly 'as is' with small helium leakEngineers are confident the leak will not worsen in flight, and even if it does, the Starliner can safely launch June 1.
Read more »
Boeing’s Starliner launches on historic 1st human spaceflight for NASAA pair of NASA astronauts have finally taken their historic ride on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner making its first-ever human spaceflight Wednesday morning.
Read more »
Boeing launches NASA astronauts for the first time after years of delaysBoeing launched astronauts for the first time Wednesday, belatedly joining SpaceX as a second taxi service for NASA.
Read more »
Boeing Starliner successfully launches carrying two NASA astronautsDT Video
Read more »