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NASA’s INCUS Mission on Road to Launch, Study Storms From Space

June 5, 2026

A complex spacecraft partially wrapped in gold-colored foil and featuring a large rectangular solar panel stands on a metallic support structure against a solid blue background.

Two of the three SmallSats for NASA’s INCUS mission, including the one shown here, have completed assembly and testing in preparation for shipment to NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia for a 2027 launch. From low Earth orbit the satellites will observe the dynamics of tropical convective storms.

Credit: Blue Canyon Technologies

The mission’s three SmallSats will provide insights to improve storm forecasting, potentially mitigating loss of life and property damage in affected communities.

Teams working on NASA’s INCUS (Investigation of Convective Updrafts) mission, the first space-based survey of the dynamics of tropical convective storms, have completed assembly and tested two of the mission’s small satellites, or SmallSats. Testing continues on the third SmallSat and is scheduled for completion no earlier than September in advance of a 2027 launch.

Characterized by the sudden and intense lifting of large amounts of air and water, tropical convective storms provide more than half of the world’s precipitation, a crucial source of life-supporting fresh water. But they also produce severe weather, which can increase risks to life and property. The INCUS mission will help improve understanding of where, when, and why convective storms form. Read more here.

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