The latest on the JPSS-2 and LOFTID:https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/08/jpss-2-testing-complete/
...JPSS-2 will launch on a ULA Atlas V 401 rocket no earlier than (NET) November 1, 2022. This Atlas V launch will mark the final flight of an Atlas-series rocket from California as well as the final flight of the rocket’s 4.2-meter fairing configuration.
Quote from: AmigaClone on 08/20/2022 08:22 amThis appears to be the last Atlas V mission without strap-on boosters, and with the 4 meter fairing.Actually, the last Atlas-family rocket without SRMs and with the 4-meter fairing.
This appears to be the last Atlas V mission without strap-on boosters, and with the 4 meter fairing.
🚀 It takes two! Check out the time lapse as two halves of the payload fairing for #JPSS2 and #LOFTID are maneuvered for a fit check.The nose cone will protect the weather satellite & reentry vehicle test article during launch on a @ULALaunch Atlas V on Nov. 1 from @SLDelta30.
Flight hardware for the rocket that will carry @NOAA's #JPSS2 🛰️ has arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base (@SLDelta30). This includes the rocket’s boattail, interstage adapter, and payload fairings. Liftoff is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 1.https://twitter.com/NOAASatellites/status/1560629389083246594
KSC-20220811-PH-JNP01_0021 On Aug. 11, 2022, teams at the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California use a crane to raise to vertical one of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V payload fairing halves for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission. The payload fairing protects the spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series. It is scheduled to lift off from VSFB on Nov. 1 from Space Launch Complex-3 East. JPSS-2 will scan the globe as it orbits from the North to the South Pole, crossing the equator 14 times a day. From 512 miles above Earth, it will capture data that inform weather forecasts, extreme weather events, and climate change. The Visible Infrared Radiometer Suite instrument will collect imagery for global observations of the land, atmosphere, cryosphere, and oceans. Launching as a secondary payload to JPSS-2 is NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter. LOFTID is a demonstration of a hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator, or aeroshell, technology that could one day help land humans on Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Julio Paz
🛰#JPSS2 arrived at @SLDelta30 in preparation for launch targeted on Nov 1. The third satellite of the @JPSSProgram (and LSP’s 100th mission!) will improve weather forecasts that help predict and prepare for extreme weather and climate change.🌎https://blogs.nasa.gov/jpss-2/2022/08/22/noaas-jpss-2-environmental-satellite-arrives-at-launch-site/
KSC-20220825-PH_JNP01_0032 The Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) is lifted for its move to a work stand inside Building 836 at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Aug. 25, 2022. LOFTID is the secondary payload on NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationâs (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series. It is scheduled to lift off from VSFB on Nov. 1 from Space Launch Complex-3. JPSS-2, which will be renamed NOAA-21 after reaching orbit, will join a constellation of JPSS satellites that orbit from the North to the South pole, circling Earth 14 times a day and providing a full view of the entire globe twice daily. The NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, and NOAA-20, previously known as JPSS-1, are both already in orbit. Each satellite carries at least four advanced instruments to measure weather and climate conditions on Earth. LOFTID is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter. LOFTID will demonstrate inflatable heat shield technology that could enable a variety of proposed NASA missions to destinations such as Mars, Venus, and Titan, as well as returning heavier payloads from low-Earth orbit. Photo credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Julio Paz
KSC-20220819-PH-JNP01_0024 Inside Building 836 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, a technician works on installing ejetable data recorders onto NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) on Aug. 19, 2022. Dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, LOFTID is a technology demonstration mission aimed at validating inflatable heat shield technology for atmospheric re-entry. This technology could enable missions to other planetary bodies, as well as allow NASA to return heavier payloads from low-Earth orbit. LOFTID is a rideshare launching with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite. NASA and NOAA are targeting Nov. 1, 2022, for the launch of JPSS-2 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg. Photo credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Julio Paz
KSC-20220816-PH-DNQ01_0044 NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) arrives for processing inside Building 836 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. LOFTID is a rideshare launching with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite. Teams working at Astrotech will prepare LOFTID to mate it with JPSS-2. After that a team will stack the encapsulated spacecraft and re-entry vehicle on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket. The technology demonstration mission is slated to test new capabilities for landing payloads, including in a thinner atmosphere like that on Mars. NASA is targeting launch for Tuesday, Nov. 1, from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-3. Photo credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Dan Quinajo
