Rocket Lab moves NASA CubeSat launches to New Zealand.
Rocket Lab has moved the launch of NASA's Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) cubesats from Virginia to New Zealand to avoid a potential conflict with another launch. The change will ensure that the satellites are launched in time to be in service when the 2023 North Atlantic hurricane season begins this summer. Each TROPICS cubesat carries a passive microwave spectrometer that will provide temperature and humidity measurements to help monitor the development of tropical storm systems.