Blastoff! Rocket Lab launches NASA Starling satellites, booster parachutes down

NASA's Starling mission tests a new technology,CubeSat swarms.It consists of four CubeSats and evaluates their navigational ability and possibilities for atmospheric research.In this test,the swarm,using Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy,takes ionospheric density measurements from Low Earth Orbit with its dual band GPS receivers.The ionosphere is a layer of the atmosphere that grows or shrinks based on solar activity and contains both solar and cosmic radiation. Rocket Lab USA Inc (RKLB)