NET 2027
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Firefly AerospaceTo Be Determined
INCUS
Firefly Alpha Block 2
Date to be confirmed
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Time to target
Target pending
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LAUNCH SITEWallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Mission
The Investigation of Convective Updrafts (INCUS) is a NASA Earth science mission led by Colorado State University that will investigate the behavior of tropical storms in order to better represent these storms in weather and climate models. It consists of 3 SmallSats flying in tight coordination to study why convective storms, heavy precipitation, and clouds occur exactly when and where they form. Each satellite will have a high frequency precipitation radar that observes rapid changes in convective cloud depth and intensities. 1 of the 3 satellites also will carry a microwave radiometer to provide the spatial content of the larger scale weather observed by the radars. By flying so closely together, the satellites will use the slight differences in when they make observations to apply a novel time-differencing approach to estimate the vertical transport of convective mass.
- Launch vehicle
- Firefly Alpha Block 2
- Mission type
- Earth Science
- Destination orbit
- Low Earth Orbit
- Launch pad
- Launch Area 0 A
- Provider
- Firefly Aerospace
The vehicle
Published configuration and flight history.
Launch vehicle
Firefly Alpha Block 2
Firefly Alpha (Firefly α) is a two-stage orbital expendable launch vehicle developed by the American aerospace company Firefly Aerospace to cover the commercial small satellite launch market. Alpha is intended to provide launch options for both full vehicle and ride share customers. The Block 2 version features increased length and structural strength for both stages, optimized propellant tanks and consolidated in-house batteries and avionics.
- Height
- 31.6 m
- Diameter
- 1.82 m
- Stages
- 2
- Recorded launches
- 0
Launch window
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Launch site & orbit
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
The mission in perspective
Launch site & orbit
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Coverage & sources
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Mission coverage
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Further reading
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