NASA’s INCUS satellites complete testing ahead of 2027 launch
The Investigation of Convective Updrafts mission, led by Colorado State University, has finished testing its spacecraft in preparation for a launch from Virginia.
The three satellites comprising NASA’s INCUS (Investigation of Convective Updrafts) mission have completed their testing phase, marking a significant milestone ahead of their scheduled launch in 2027. The spacecraft are being prepared for deployment from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, with the mission designed to conduct the first space-based survey of tropical convective storm dynamics.
One of the nearly identical satellites was recently observed on a fixture at the facilities of Blue Canyon Technologies in Lafayette, Colorado. While the mission’s broader launch window is set for 2027, the source material notes that testing was completed in preparation for a launch in late May 2026, a date that requires verification against the primary 2027 timeline.
Once in low Earth orbit, the three satellites will fly in tight coordination to observe the vertical motion of air and water, known as convective mass flux, as storms develop and evolve. The first and second satellites will be separated by 30 seconds in orbit, while the second and third will be separated by 90 seconds.
Each satellite carries a radar instrument designed to capture these atmospheric movements. Additionally, the middle satellite will carry a microwave radiometer to provide further data on the storm structures. This coordinated approach allows for a comprehensive view of the complex interactions within tropical weather systems.
The INCUS mission is funded through the Earth Venture Mission-3 acquisition under NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder Program. It is led by principal investigator Sue van den Heever at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. The mission supports the broader goals of NASA’s Earth System Observatory, a set of interconnected missions studying Earth’s dynamic natural systems.
INCUS also forms part of FALCON (Fleet for the Atmosphere Linking Commercial Observations with NASA), a fleet of atmosphere-observing satellites that combines hardware contributions from NASA centres, universities, and commercial partners. This integration highlights the growing collaboration between government agencies and private sector entities in advancing atmospheric science.
