Published on 15 May 2024 | Tim Michaels
After a long-distance voyage to the Rocket Lab launch complex in New Zealand, the tiny twin PREFIRE CubeSats are being prepped for launch aboard two separate Electron rockets. The first PREFIRE CubeSat launch (referred to as Ready, Aim, PREFIRE by Rocket Lab) may occur as soon as May 22, 2024. Depending on where in the world you are, its launch time of about 7:30 am UTC may be during the day (most of Europe, Africa, Asia, and some of Australia) or night (North and South America, New Zealand, and some of Australia). Just how tiny are they? Each is the size and shape of a large shoebox when their solar panels are folded up! For more details about these spacecraft and their important mission, see this new NASA post.
This work is supported by NASA.
- PREFIRE First Light Announcement!
- 2024 PREFIRE Science Team Meeting
- Second PREFIRE Satellite Launched!
- Update on second PREFIRE CubeSat launch
- First PREFIRE Satellite Launched!
- Rocket assembly pics and PI radio interview
- Launch update and a new short video!
- NASA's tiny twin polar satellites (first launch soon)
- Pre-launch anticipation of PREFIRE CubeSat science
Recent Posts
In collaboration with PREFIRE, the Southern Hemisphere polar Infrared Radiation Experiment (SHIRE) has begun an intensive observation campaign at Scott Base (78°S, 166°E) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. The two in-orbit PREFIRE TIRS instruments and a ground-based ER-AERI instrument deployed by SHIRE will provide novel observations from both the surface and top-of-atmosphere allowing for total closure of the atmospheric emission spectra.
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The PREFIRE Mission is excited to announce that all PREFIRE data products are now available to the public via the Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC)! PREFIRE data collections include Level 1 Radiance, retrieved Level 2 products, Level 3 climatologies, and supporting auxiliary products.
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NASA has publicly released the first look at PREFIRE mission data, also known as the first light announcement! The PREFIRE science team worked with NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio to create a first light video. It showcases some of the fascinating infrared details of the Arctic surface and atmosphere that PREFIRE-SAT2 captured in July 2024. The PREFIRE science team is hard at work analyzing the countless measurements that the twin CubeSats are radioing to the ground every day.
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The 2024 PREFIRE Science Team Meeting was held at the University of Colorado on August 8th and 9th. The PREFIRE team, led by Tristan L'Ecuyer (PI) discussed the status of the PREFIRE CubeSats and instruments, the Science Data Processing System (SDPS), and preliminary data output, as well as the nuances and considerations of this unique dataset. The team also discussed potential validation activities and heard from several external scientists about related projects with the potential for both collaboration and validation.
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Rocket Lab successfully launched the second of two PREFIRE satellites from Mahia, New Zealand at 3:15 pm NZST (3:15 am UTC).
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