Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) has announced that the company has been selected by NASA to launch the Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission.

Scheduled for May 1, 2023, Rocket Lab will launch the TROPICS mission into their operational orbit within a 60-day period. These two dedicated missions will launch on Electron rockets from the Launch Complex 2 within the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. 

The goal of the TROPICS project is to target the formation and evolution of tropical cyclones and hurricanes. TROPICS will provide rapidly updating observations of storm intensity as well as the horizontal and vertical structures of temperature and humidity within the storms and in their surrounding environment. 

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck stated: “This year we once again witnessed the devastating effects of hurricanes and tropical storms on lives and livelihoods, underscoring the importance of improved climate data from space to enable scientists and researchers to accurately predict storm strength and give people time to evacuate and make plans.”

Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle, the Photon satellite platform and the Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for constellation deployment.

Shares of Rocket Lab trade on the NASDAQ, under the ticker symbol RKLB.