Rocket Lab Sets Date for Second NASA PREFIRE Launch

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Rocket Lab USA, Inc., a global leader in launch services and space systems, confirmed the scheduled launch date for the second of two back-to-back Electron launches for NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) climate change-focused mission.

The ‘PREFIRE and Ice’ launch is scheduled to take place on 1 June NZST just seven days after the first PREFIRE launch, ‘Ready, Aim, PREFIRE,’ which successfully launched on May 25th, 2024. ‘PREFIRE and Ice’ will lift-off from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand during a launch window that opens at 3:00 pm NZST (03:00 am, 1 June UTC).

NASA’s PREFIRE mission consists of two shoebox-size cube satellites that will measure the amount of heat Earth radiates into space from Earth’s poles. Data from the PREFIRE mission will help researchers better predict how Earth’s ice, seas, and weather will change in a warming world. At the heart of the PREFIRE mission is Earth’s energy budget – the balance between incoming heat energy from the Sun and the outgoing heat given off by the planet. The difference between the two is what determines the planet’s temperature and climate. A lot of the heat radiated from the Arctic and Antarctica is emitted as far-infrared radiation, but there is currently no detailed measurement of this type of energy. The water vapor content of the atmosphere, along with the presence, structure, and composition of clouds, influences the amount of far-infrared radiation that escapes into space from Earth’s poles. Data collected from PREFIRE will give researchers information on where and when far-infrared energy radiates from the Arctic and Antarctic environments into space.

Rocket Lab’s ability to launch dedicated missions to precise orbits in quick succession is critical to the success of PREFIRE. The mission requires two separate satellites to follow similar trajectories but along different paths to overlap with each other every few hours near the Arctic and Antarctica and capture accurate heat loss measurements.