NASA Loses Two Hurricane Monitoring Satellites on Launch

NASA described the TROPICS CubeSats as a constellation of six 'shoe-box sized' satellites that will 'study the formation and development of tropical cyclones, making observations more often than what is possible with current weather satellites' Gregg Newton AFP/File

Two small NASA satellites that were meant to study hurricane development failed to enter orbit Sunday when their Astra rocket shut off before reaching the necessary altitude, the US space agency said.

"After a nominal first stage flight, the upper stage of the rocket shut down early and failed to deliver the TROPICS CubeSats to orbit," NASA's Launch Services Program said on Twitter.