Rocket Lab is set to launch two missions in rapid succession for NASA from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The PREFIRE missions will focus on climate change by measuring heat in the polar regions using infrared technology.
NASA chose Rocket Lab for these missions to speed up deployment, avoiding the need to wait for a rideshare. This upcoming back-to-back launch follows Rocket Lab's previous success with TROPICS and the recent deployment of the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System for NASA.
The satellites for the PREFIRE missions will be six-unit cubesats placed in a Sun-synchronous orbit over the Arctic and Antarctica. These satellites will aid in predicting global warming impacts by measuring infrared and far-infrared wavelengths.
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