(Updated) Launching soon, a squad of small satellites will help NASA study big storms

Two TROPICS 3U CubeSats, each about the size of a loaf of bread, will launch aboard Astra's Rocket 3.3 from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The company will launch the other four TROPICS CubeSats in two separate launches later this summer.

Astra Space is targeting June 12, pending issuance of a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration, for the first launch of NASA's TROPICS (TROPICS-1) mission.

TROPICS, short for Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats, is a constellation of SmallSats that will help scientists understand tropical cyclones.

Two TROPICS 3U CubeSats, each about the size of a loaf of bread, will launch aboard Astra's Rocket 3.3 from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The company will launch the other four TROPICS CubeSats in two separate launches later this summer.

We expect to launch @NASA's TROPICS-1 no earlier than June 12, 2022, pending issuance of a launch license from @FAAnews. pic.twitter.com/NaOqFnFbcT

— Astra (@Astra) June 8, 2022

NASA's TROPICS mission is aimed at studying tropical cyclones like hurricanes, some of the most powerful and destructive weather events on Earth, by measuring storm characteristics with a sensor about the size of a coffee cup.

The miniaturized microwave radiometer detects the thermal radiation naturally emitted by the oxygen and water vapor in the air. TROPICS has the potential to provide near-hourly observations of a storm's precipitation, temperature, and humidity. These observations will profoundly improve scientists' understanding of processes driving tropical cyclone intensification and will contribute to improving weather forecasting models

This launch will send the first two of six small satellites to study the formation and development of tropical cyclones. 🌀 Learn more about @NASA's TROPICS mission: https://t.co/jgO6KUpd2s https://t.co/AaZ0jBb43G

— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) June 8, 2022

Update 1

Two TROPICS CubeSats lifted off atop an Astra Rocket 3 on Sunday, June 12, but after a nominal first stage flight, the upper stage of the rocket shut down early and failed to deliver the TROPICS CubeSats to orbit, NASA said.