Date Time NASA Awards Launch Service Contract for TROPICS Mission to Study Storm Processes NASA has selected Astra Space Inc. to provide a launch service for the agencys Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of SmallSats (TROPICS) mission. The TROPICS mission consists of a constellation of six CubeSats and will increase the scientific communitys understanding of storm processes. The launch service contract for the TROPICS mission is a firm fixed-price contract valued at $7.95 million. NASAs Launch Services Program at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida will manage the launch service. The CubeSats, each the size of a shoebox, will provide rapid-refresh microwave measurements that can be used to determine temperature, pressure, and humidity inside hurricanes as they form and evolve. The TROPICS missions high-revisit imaging and sounding observations are enabled by microwave technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Lincoln Laboratory. These observations will profoundly improve scientists’ understanding of processes driving high-impact storms.