NEW ZEALAND – NASA has launched the first of two research satellites to measure how much heat is lost to space from the Arctic and Antarctica. The shoebox-size satellite lifted off Saturday at 7:42 p.m. local time (3:42 a.m. ET) aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s launch complex in Mahia, New Zealand. The company confirmed the satellite’s successful deployment at 8:35 p.m. local time (4:35 a.m. ET).
The climate science mission, known as Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment, or PREFIRE, aims to improve scientists’ understanding of how water vapor, clouds and other elements of Earth’s atmosphere trap heat and keep it from radiating into space. (CNN)…[+]