The Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will be covered by NASA during the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities. The JPSS-2 spacecraft, the third in the polar satellite series, is designed to collect data that will help meteorologists forecast and prepare for extreme weather occurrences and climate change.
JPSS-2 is slated to launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 5:25 a.m. EDT (2:25 a.m. PDT).
At 4:45 a.m., live launch coverage will start. Prelaunch and science briefings will start on Friday, October 28 at 1:45 a.m. PDT on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the organization’s website. Visit the agency’s website to follow coverage at:
JPSS represents important scientific and technology developments in observations for environmental monitoring and severe weather forecasting. Three to seven days before a severe weather event, these data are essential for timely and accurate forecasts. To offer twice-day full global coverage, it will scan Earth as it revolves between the North and South Poles, traversing the equator 14 times daily.
All JPSS series satellites are developed, launched, tested, and operated in collaboration between NASA and NOAA.
NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration is being launched with JPSS-2. To demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s capacity to slow down and survive re-entry, LOFTID will pursue a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit once JPSS-2 is successfully launched into orbit. In collaboration with ULA, LOFTID honors the legacy of Bernard Kutter, a company engineer who was instrumental in the technology’s development. If you want to land people on Mars, launch new missions to Venus and Titan, or bring back heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit, LOFTID will show how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential uses.