NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAAs) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) mission and NASAs Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration.
Liftoff is scheduled at 1:25 a.m. PST (4:25 a.m. EST) Thursday, Nov. 10, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The Joint Polar Satellite System is the latest generation of NOAAs polar-orbiting environmental satellites. JPSS will capture data to inform weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events.
After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shields ability to slow down and survive re-entry. The technology could be further developed to support crewed and large robotic missions to destinations such as Mars, Venus, and Titan, as well as returning heavier payloads to Earth.
Live launch coverage will begin at 3:45 a.m. EST (12:45 a.m. PST) on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agencys website, with additional events beginning Tuesday, Nov. 8. Watch coverage on the agencys website at:
Full mission coverage is as follows:
Tuesday, Nov. 8
5:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. PST) NASA will hold a science briefing to discuss the JPSS-2 and LOFTID missions. The agency will livestream audio of the media teleconference on its website.
Participants include:
- Jordan Gerth, meteorologist and satellite scientist, NOAAs National Weather Service
- Jim Gleason, senior project scientist, NASA JPSS, NASA
- Satya Kalluri, program scientist, NOAA JPSS Program
- Heather Kilcoyne, ground project manager, NOAA JPSS
- Joe Del Corso, LOFTID project manager, NASAs Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia
