- NASA awarded Rocket Lab two IDIQ task orders enabling the rideshare launch of the second Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor and the Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer.
- The projects are part of the $300 million Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare contract.
- The TSIS-2 mission will measure total and spectral irradiance, while PolSIR will consist of two CubeSats studying ice clouds’ impact on electromagnetic radiation
NASA announced Thursday that it has chosen Rocket Lab to launch two space missions: the second Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor and the Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer.
The missions are part of NASA’s $300 million Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare contract. Under the fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity agreement, Rocket Lab will launch the instruments aboard its Electron rockets on different occasions in Mahia, New Zealand, in 2027.
NASA officials will be among the keynote speakers at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30. Don’t miss panel discussions on topics such as commercial space relay and other advanced space technologies. Register here!
What Are the Details of the TSIS-2 Mission?
The new Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor satellite is being sent into space almost 10 years after a similar instrument, TSIS-1, which was designed to measure solar irradiance from its position at the International Space Station. TSIS-2 will track total and spectral irradiance. TSIS-2 lift-off is scheduled for early 2027. Some of its components were supplied by the University of Colorado, Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems is providing the free-flying spacecraft that will carry TSIS-2, while the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland will manage the satellite.
What is the PolSIR Mission?
Led by Vanderbilt University, the Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer mission comprises two 16U CubeSat satellites that will measure electromagnetic radiation in ice clouds. They are designed to observe ice level variations during tropical storms, as well as the daily impact of ice clouds on sunlight and heat radiation. Rocket Lab plans to launch PolSIR on two Electron rockets by June 2027. Blue Canyon Technologies is building the PolSIR spacecrafts, while the University of Wisconsin, Madison’s Space Science and Engineering Center will be in charge of science operations.
