NASA is looking for new rockets after a botched launch attempt to carry two CubeSats to space in June, citing critical hurricane-tracking satellite demands. After its first provider, Astra, lost a rocket carrying two TROPICS CubeSats during the inaugural launch on June 12, NASA is inviting new businesses to bid on flying its TROPICS satellite series in 2023. (The cause is still being investigated.)
According to NASA officials, the TROPICS launch pivot is required for a "timely" launch of the CubeSat constellation\. Several massive hurricanes or powerful tropical storms (including Hurricane Ian) slammed across sections of Canada, the United States, and Puerto Rico in September. As a result of climate change, similar storms are intensifying over the planet, necessitating the use of these satellites.
NASA said it will look to 13 companies preapproved under a commercial launch services contract known as Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare Vehicles (VADR) to bring TROPICS into orbit by 2023. The VADR contract permits the 13 businesses chosen this year to compete for the TROPICS launch services rebid, allowing the agency and external stakeholders to access TROPICS data sooner.
TROPICS, which stands for Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats, intends to allow researchers to examine emerging tropical cyclones once per hour, significantly more often than meteorological satellites in orbit can presently do. Astra's Rocket 3.3, which failed to launch TROPICS, failed multiple times in subsequent tries, causing the corporation to terminate that rocket line in August in order to focus on a better version known as Rocket 4.0.
NASA stated that once Rocket 4.0 is ready, NASA and Astra's launch services contract would be updated to allow for the launch of comparable research payloads.
Prior to the launch mishap, Astra had been chosen for three TROPICS launches on the now-canceled Rocket 3.3 in 2021.