Two dedicated PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) missions will use the firm’s Electron rocket to deploy one small satellite each to a 525km orbit. The two 6U CubeSats will have a baseline mission length of 10 months.

Electron is a two-stage, partially recoverable orbital launch vehicle that has been in use since 2017. Although the rocket was designed to be expendable, Rocket Lab has recovered the first stage twice and is working towards the capability of reusing the booster.

The two satellites will be equipped with a thermal infrared spectrometer to compare the data with conditions in cloud cover and sea ice levels below.

Analysis of the measurements obtained by the satellites will inform climate and ice models, providing better projections of how a warming world will affect sea ice loss, ice sheet melt and sea level rise. Improving climate models can ultimately help to provide more accurate projections on the impacts of storm...