NASA to Launch 6 Small Satellites to Monitor, Study Tropical Cyclones

[skyline385]

This sounds exciting, looks like we will be getting hourly microwave scans soon

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/esnt/2022/ ... l-cyclones

[aspen]

Two of the satellites are down because the Astra launch vehicle started spinning out of control before it could enter a stable orbit. That’s the second Astra failure in the last few months.

NASA says the remaining 4 will still be able to accomplish their science goals, but I’m worried that Astra’s rocket may fail yet again and doom at least 2 more satellites.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/update-on- ... -1-mission

Edit: here’s a video on the launch: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rq9Z3AqTRM

[toad strangler]

Sounds like it was a total loss. Ughh

[skyline385]

Sounds like it was a total loss. Ughh

They lost 2 which is unfortunate but they still have 4 more.

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

[aspen]

Astra has scrapped the rocket that NASA contracted to launch all six TROPICS satellites after it destroyed the first two and failed 5 out of its 7 total launches, and is instead focusing on its upcoming Rocket 4. However, it won’t be ready until approximately 2024 and is designed to launch payload of a few hundred kilos, making it a poor fit for the under 10 kg TROPICS sats.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-looking-for- ... -cubesats/

TL;DR, we’re not getting TROPICS this season.

[ChrisH-UK]

With Astra's rocket been brand new they have had a fair few problems which isn't good for them or NASA. NASA is looking for an alternative rathen wait till 2024 time frame for Astra to launch them only problem is it would have to be a dedicated flight due to 30º orbit to cover the tropics are rarely used by other satellites. So it's now a matter of waiting till NASA get things sorted out.