PREFIRE And Ice
PREFIRE And Ice was a Rocket Lab Electron mission for NASA that launched successfully at 03:15 UTC on 5 June 2024 (3:15 p.m. NZST on 5 June; 11:15 p.m. EDT on 4 June) from Launch Complex 1B on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.
03:15 UTC on 5 June 2024 · 3:15 p.m. NZST on 5 June · 11:15 p.m. EDT on 4 June
Mission State
This mission currently has a dated launch window in the tracker.
The primary watch link points to an official Rocket Lab source.
Launch Updates
-
Successful launch
by Nosu Source: nasa.gov -
Spacecraft separation confirmed.
by Cosmic_Penguin Source: youtube.com -
Liftoff.
by Cosmic_Penguin Source: youtube.com
Updates via Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs).
Name Origin
The name "PREFIRE And Ice" highlights the mission's primary payload: NASA's PREFIRE experiment, dedicated to studying Earth's polar ice and its radiant energy with far-infrared instruments.
Mission Overview
Second 6U Cubesat carrying a miniaturized IR spectrometer, covering 0- 45 μm at 0.84 μm spectral resolution, operating for one seasonal cycle for NASAs PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission.
Technical Details
6
kiwis- https://www.rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/RL-F49-PREFIRE-Ice.pdf rocketlabusa.com
Launch data cross-checked against Wikipedia.
Was this a jellyfish launch?
UnlikelySun 14° above the horizon at liftoff — daylight, the sky is too bright.
Details
- Unlikely
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Liftoff
- 3:15 p.m. NZST · 03:15 UTC
- Sunset
- 4:52 p.m. NZST · 04:52 UTC
- Civil dusk (−6°)
- 5:22 p.m. NZST · 05:22 UTC
- Nautical dusk (−12°)
- 5:55 p.m. NZST · 05:55 UTC
- Astronomical dusk (−18°)
- 6:28 p.m. NZST · 06:28 UTC
Twilight times at the pad (Mahia, NZ) for the evening of the launch.
What's a rocket jellyfish? When a rocket launches in twilight, the ground is dark but its exhaust plume climbs into sunlight high above. The expanding plume glows against the dark sky in a jellyfish-like shape.
Space-Object Catalog
| Object | Operator | Built by | Mass | Orbit | Status | NORAD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PREFIRE 1 2024-108A · Payload | Operator Jet Propulsion Lab | Built by Jet Propulsion Lab Cubesat 6U | Mass 10 kg | Orbit 484 × 500 km · 97.5° | Status On orbit | NORAD 59965 |
Electron 49 Stage 2 2024-108B · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Electron St2 | Mass 250 kg | Orbit 125 × 165 km · 97.5° | Status Decayed 2024-06-18 | NORAD 59966 |
Electron 49 Kick Stage 2024-108C · Stage | Operator Rocket Lab Ltd. | Built by Rocket Lab Ltd. Kick Stage | Mass 50 kg | Orbit 154 × 170 km · 97.4° | Status Decayed 2025-04-04 | NORAD 59967 |
