NASA Tropics Hurricane Satellites Launched By Rocket Lab
A Rocket Lab Electron booster launched a pair of NASA Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) satellites from Mahai, New Zealand.
The first satellites from the constellations were original supposed to fly to space atop Astra's Rocket 3.3 booster but were lost when the launch failed.
Credit: Rocket Lab
The first satellites from the constellations were original supposed to fly to space atop Astra's Rocket 3.3 booster but were lost when the launch failed.
Credit: Rocket Lab
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TechTranscript
00:00 >> T-minus 20 seconds and counting.
00:15 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
00:35 [ Sound effects ]
01:04 >> HVB discharge is nominal.
01:07 [ Sound effects ]
01:14 >> Electron is soaring through the sky right now after lifting off from Pad B at Launch Complex 1,
01:20 now on its way to low Earth orbit for NASA and Tropics.
01:24 The first launch milestone the rocket will pass through is Max Q,
01:28 when the forces against Electron are at their peak as the rocket moves quickly through the atmosphere.
01:33 Mission Control is expected to call that out on the net shortly.
01:37 [ Sound effects ]
01:44 >> Cleared Max Q.
01:47 >> Great news there with Max Q and onward and upward for Electron.
01:50 It has only been about a minute since liftoff and already the rocket is at its speeds of over 2,000 kilometers an hour,
01:57 a mere fraction of the 27,000 plus kilometers an hour that is orbital velocity,
02:02 which will reach a head of payload deployment in the next 30 minutes or so.
02:06 Next though is the separation of the rocket between Stages 1 and 2.
02:10 For that to happen, we first need the nine Rutherford engines currently burning hot to shut down,
02:15 an action called Main Engine Cutoff or MECO.
02:19 Then a few moments later, Stages 1 and 2 will spring apart.
02:22 We'll hear that called out as stage separation.
02:25 Then the single space-optimized Rutherford engine on the second stage will light up and carry on with the Tropics mission.
02:32 Those milestones should be taking place at around T plus two and a half minutes.
02:36 [ Sound effects ]
02:48 >> Fifteen seconds to MECO.
02:50 >> Entered Burnout Detect Mode.
03:04 >> MECO confirmed.
03:10 >> Stage separation successful.
03:13 >> Stage signation.
03:15 >> Exactly as we expect, there goes MECO stage separation,
03:19 and we can now see that the Rutherford engine nozzle is glowing hot on the second stage.
03:24 The Tropics satellites remain in good health on the Electron,
03:27 and soon the rocket's onboard computer will command the fairing to separate and fall away.
03:31 Now that we're in the vacuum of space, Tropics doesn't need the protection of the fairing anymore,
03:35 so we get rid of that dead weight to maximize fuel efficiency on the way to orbit.
03:43 >> Fairing separation successful.
03:45 >> If you were looking at the screen at the right moment just there,
03:48 you will have seen those two nose cone halves falling away as planned with the fairing separation.
03:53 Electron is performing nominally on its way to orbit with a few minutes between now and our next mission milestone,
03:59 the battery hot swap for our second stage engine at around six minutes, 52 seconds into flight.
04:04 [ Sound effects ]
04:10 >> Guidance is nominal.
04:14 >> Stage separation is still nominal.
04:17 [ Sound effects ]
04:38 >> Electron and Tropics are moving at a good pace right now,
04:41 well over 8,000 kilometres an hour at the T plus four minute mark into the mission.
04:47 The vehicle is currently at 234 kilometres in altitude,
04:51 with another 300 or 350 so kilometres to go until we reach our 550 kilometre destination.
04:58 >> Getting there is only one part of the journey though,
05:01 as Tropics won't be released immediately at that 550 kilometre first touch.
05:06 Satellites will remain attached to the rocket's third stage
05:09 and complete a full loop of Earth before they can be deployed on their home orbit.
05:14 We'll explain that process in more detail later when we get closer to that point of the mission.
05:19 [ Sound effects ]
05:25 >> Stage two propulsion hold nominal.
05:28 [ Sound effects ]
05:34 >> A quick check of the dials on our screen tell us that all remains nominal for Electron and Tropics.
05:39 The rocket is moving steadily at more than 9,000 kilometres an hour
05:43 and we are inching closer to that 550 kilometre mark
05:46 now that Electron has passed more than 300 kilometres altitude.
05:50 To keep the mission running smoothly, we'll have another launch milestone coming up soon.
05:55 It is called the battery hot swap and it's essential to keeping our Rutherford engine
05:59 running all the way to the mission's altitude destination.
06:02 That action is due at around 6 minutes and 52 seconds in flight,
06:06 so in just another one minute or so.
06:10 [ Sound effects ]
06:29 >> Guidance is nominal, 200 seconds remaining.
06:34 >> What we call the battery hot swap manoeuvre is a unique action for our Electron rocket.
06:39 When the first two battery packs supplying power to our electropumps on stage two
06:43 are close to being drained, Electron switches to a fresh battery
06:47 that will ensure the Rutherford engine lasts the distance to orbit.
06:51 It's a move our rocket has performed countless times before, but it is a move unique to Electron.
06:56 Battery hot swap is on its way in just a few moments, so we'll bring up the mission control comms again
07:00 to listen out for the call.
07:02 [ Sound effects ]
07:14 >> Throttling down.
07:16 [ Sound effects ]
07:26 >> Hot swap successful.
07:28 [ Applause ]
07:31 >> Just as it was planned, the Rutherford has switched to its new power source
07:35 with the battery hot swap and is continuing nominally with the Tropics mission.
07:40 There are a few minutes left in the engine's burn time before the second stage
07:44 completes its final actions for the mission, shutting down Rutherford
07:48 and then separating from the third stage.
07:50 [ Sound effects ]
08:05 >> HVB discharge holding nominal.
08:07 [ Sound effects ]
08:14 >> How beautiful are some of these views from Electron?
08:17 This nominal Rutherford burn marks our 360th engine in space,
08:22 inching us closer to our 400th engine milestone, expected on our 40th Electron launch.
08:28 In fact, one of those engines to fly next will be an engine that we have already launched before.
08:34 We are taking the next major step in evolving Electron into a reusable rocket
08:39 by launching a pre-flown Rutherford engine on one of our missions later this year.
08:44 That engine, which flew on our There and Back Again mission in May 2022,
08:49 has undergone the same extensive testing and acceptance processes as any newly built engine
08:55 and has performed flawlessly throughout multiple full mission duration engine tests.
09:00 We are very excited to see that engine back on the pad soon.
09:03 But back to Tropics, and that second stage is performing well,
09:07 and the Tropics payload is healthy as both continue travelling at speeds of over 19,000 kilometers per hour.
09:14 [ Sound effects ]
09:24 >> Entered burnout detect mode.
09:26 [ Sound effects ]
09:28 >> All right, at T plus 8 minutes, 56 seconds into this mission for NASA,
09:32 and we are nearly in orbit.
09:34 In a few moments, we'll be able to see that red-hot engine nozzle there start to turn cold
09:39 once the engine on stage two shuts down.
09:42 >> Mission Control will call out these actions.
09:44 Listen out for "SECO confirmed" on the nets coming up shortly.
09:48 [ Silence ]
09:57 >> SECO confirmed.
09:59 [ Applause ]
10:02 >> There it is from Mission Control, met with a good cheer from our team.
10:06 SECO and stage separation confirmed.
10:08 That means our Kick Stage and Tropics satellites are now in their phasing orbit of Earth.
10:13 It's been a perfectly nominal mission so far, but Electron's work isn't quite done yet.
10:18 >> That's right. Tropics is a bit different to our usual launches.
10:21 For this mission, the second stage sending the Kick Stage directly into a circular orbit,
10:27 rather than the Kick Stage taking the satellites on its usual elliptical journey around Earth first.
10:33 Then, once the Kick Stage passes the equator at what is called the ascending node,
10:38 the Kick Stage's Curie engine lights up to change its inclination to end up in Tropics' desired orbit.