Nasa's CYGNSS cyclone tracking constellation launch from the belly of an aeroplane delayed

Nasa is launching a constellation of eight satellites to better monitor hurricanes. The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System ( CYGNSS) is a flock of eight micro-satellites, which which will improve weather forecasts for the intensity of cyclones. Although forecasts of hurricanes have improved by 50 percent since the 1990s, there has been little progress when it comes to correctly predicting their intensities. [caption id=“attachment_352360” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  A CYGNSS craft being prepared in a lab. Image: NASA[/caption] The CYGNSS constellation will scrutinise the regions beneath the eyewall, as well as the inner rainbands of hurricanes. Both measurements are possible for the first time from space because of the CYGNSS flock. Frank Peri, director of the Earth Systems Science Program Office (ESSPO), based at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, says “This mission will help us get a better idea of the intensity of tropical cyclones.”

The launch for the CYGNSS constellation is not a regular rocket launch. Instead of being a passenger on board a rocket that lifts off a launchpad, the rocket with the payload will be launched in mid air from the belly of an aeroplane using  Orbital ATK’s Pegasus rocket, at an altitude of 39,000 feet. The rocket will free fall for five seconds, before firing in the air, and re-orienting itself upwards towards space. Three stages of the rocket will fire and fall away, before the CYGNSS constellation is released into orbit. The Pegasus is the world’s first privately developed launch vehicle. Update: There is a 40 percent chance that the launch could be delayed because of bad weather. The launch was delayed because of a technical glitch. It was initially planned to postpone the launch by one day in case of bad weather, with a 20 percent calculated chance of disruption by bad weather the next day. The launch will be  live on NASA TV, with pre-launch programming before the live coverage. The launch has been rescheduled to 14 December, because of a malfunction in the hydraulic mechanism that releases the Pegasus rocket from the aeroplane. The mechanism was working as expected during pre-launch tests. A replacement aircraft is being called in to carry out the launch. The launch has been scheduled for 8:20 am EST, which is about 6:30 pm, IST, 14 December.