LAUNCH TIME | June 12, 2022 - 18:00 |
LAUNCH PROVIDER | Astra |
CUSTOMER | NASA |
ROCKET | Rocket 3.3 - LV 0010 |
LAUNCH SITE | Space Launch Complex 46, Cape Canaveral |
PAYLOAD MASS | 10,68 Kg |
DESTINATION | Low Earth Orbit (LEO) |
LANDING SITE | Rocket 3 is not reusable |
WEATHER | 10-40% (45TH WEATHER SQUADRON) |
Astra will launch NASA's TROPICS-1 mission. The mission includes two CubeSat TROPICS 3U in a 550 km orbit.
This will be the second launch from Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, after ELaNa 41 failed to reach orbit earlier this year.
TROPICS:
The TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission will collect microwave measurements of the Earth's troposphere to study its structure in storm systems. The TROPICS satellites will be placed on three different planes above the tropics to observe the storm systems on a mesoscale and synoptic scale for the entire life cycle of the aforementioned storms.
Once finalized, the TROPICS constellation will consist of six identical 3U CubeSats that will be launched on Astra's TROPICS-1 missions up to TROPICS-3.
TROPICS 02 & 03
TROPICS-02 and TROPICS-03 will be the two identical double rotation 3U CubeSats aboard Astra's LV0010 and TROPICS-1 mission. Each TROPICS satellite is equipped with a 12-channel passive microwave spectrometer for near 90 and 205 GHz observations and temperature and humidity probes at 118 GHz and 183 GHz respectively.
Rocket 3.3
Rocket 3.3, LV0010, is the fifth rocket in the Rocket 3 family created by Astra.
The vehicle is made up of two stages, is 13.1 m high and has a diameter of 1.32 m which makes its maximum load capacity of about 50 kg in a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit.
The first stage The first stage of Rocket 3 has five Delphin motors powered by an electric pump which produce a total thrust of approximately 145 kN. Delphin engines use RP-1 as propellant and Liquid Oxygen.
The second stage The second stage has a pressure fed Aether motor which produces about 3.3 kN of thrust. The second stage also uses RP-1 as a propellant and Liquid Oxygen.
The main feature of Rocket 3 is the ability to transport the rocket, and all ground equipment, inside standard shipping containers. The vehicle support tower can be assembled by a few people and the system is ready to launch in a week
Follow the launch in the official NASAspaceflight live stream on YouTube.
(The livestream will start at T-30 minutes)