First INCUS Satellite Successfully Integrated, Paving the Way for Storm-Chasing Mission

The JPL and BCT teams pose in front of INCUS Observatory 1

September 19, 2025

LAFAYETTE, COLORADO- The teams at Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have successfully integrated the first of three INCUS satellites, Observatory-1. This marks a major milestone toward the launch of INCUS, which will enable us to measure convective mass flux from space and advance our understanding of the processes driving severe weather.

Earlier this month, the engineering and hardware teams at BCT and JPL completed the full integration of INCUS Observatory-1. This full integration joins the main bus, provided by BCT, with the JPL-built Dynamic Microwave Radiometer and Dynamic Atmospheric Radar. This milestone means that the fully functioning Observatory-1 is now ready for the next steps in rigorous testing, including the vibration tests.

This milestone keeps INCUS on track for a scheduled launch no later than August 2027, on a Firefly Alpha rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.