KSC-20220907-PH_DNQ01_0038 Technicians use a crane to lower the re-entry vehicle for the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) into the re-entry vehicle payload adapter interface ring as part of launch preparations inside Building 836 at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Sept. 7, 2022. LOFTID is the secondary payload on NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (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. 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/Dan Quinajon
🛰@NOAA is hosting a virtual media day today at 1:00pm EDT for journalists to learn about #JPSS2.This 3rd satellite in the @JPSSProgram series will collect weather data & even monitor wildfires!Launch is Nov 1 on a @ULALaunch #AtlasV from @SLDelta30.https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/noaasatellites/
The launch of the JPSS-2 and LOFTID will mark the end of 62 years of orbital launches of rockets from Vandenberg bearing the Atlas name, given that the first Atlas orbital launch from Vandenberg was conducted in late 1960.
Quote from: zubenelgenubi on 09/04/2022 04:36 pmQuote from: TJL on 09/03/2022 10:51 pmWas the booster AV# determined for this flight yet?Read up-thread.We have no news of the launch vehicle delivery.The first stage and a single engine Centaur on-site could have been re-purposed from a delayed payload's launch.Thus my speculation that the first stage delivered for Starliner CFT has been re-purposed for this launch.IDK about the Centaur. IIRC, the "AV" designation derives from the Centaur. So, the AV designation would not be AV-085?[SES-20 and 21] is AV-099JPSS is AV-098Crew is AV-085USSF-51 is AV-101As usual, when more than a few months out, they can change.
Quote from: TJL on 09/03/2022 10:51 pmWas the booster AV# determined for this flight yet?Read up-thread.We have no news of the launch vehicle delivery.The first stage and a single engine Centaur on-site could have been re-purposed from a delayed payload's launch.Thus my speculation that the first stage delivered for Starliner CFT has been re-purposed for this launch.IDK about the Centaur. IIRC, the "AV" designation derives from the Centaur. So, the AV designation would not be AV-085?
Was the booster AV# determined for this flight yet?
Oct 5, 2022MEDIA ADVISORY M22-144NASA Invites Media to Learn About Inflatable Heat Shield DemoNASA and United Launch Alliance (ULA) will host a media briefing on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m. EDT in advance of the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration. The briefing will be held via WebEx.LOFTID is scheduled to launch Tuesday, Nov. 1, as a secondary payload with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s JPSS-2 polar-orbiting satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.After hitching a ride to space aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket, LOFTID will inflate and then descend back to Earth from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate how the inflatable heat shield design can slow down a spacecraft to survive atmospheric entry. This technology could support landing crew and large robotic missions on Mars, as well as returning heavier payloads to Earth.The briefing participants are:Trudy Kortes, director of Technology Demonstrations, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA HeadquartersJoe Del Corso, LOFTID project manager, NASA's Langley Research CenterJohn DiNonno, LOFTID chief engineer, NASA LangleyJohn Reed, ULA chief technologistMedia will have the opportunity to ask questions of panelists. To participate, media must RSVP at least two hours prior to the virtual event to Gerelle Dodson at: [email protected]. The briefing will be recorded and made available online after the event.The LOFTID project is managed and funded through NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions program, part of the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate. The project is led by NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, in partnership with United Launch Alliance and with contributions from NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for managing the launch service.For more information about LOFTID, visit:https://www.nasa.gov/loftid-end-
The inflated LOFTID engineering development unit aeroshell is lifted to a test stand. The engineering unit allowed engineers to refine tests and procedures before building and integrating flight hardware.Credits: NASA
Will JPSS-2 launch circa 09:45 UTC?
https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch/atlas-v-jpss-2QuoteAtlas V to Launch JPSS-2A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket will launch the Joint Polar Satellite (JPSS)-2 civilian polar-orbiting weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA and NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID). Liftoff will occur from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.Launch Date and Time: November 1, 2022 at 2:25 a.m. PDT (5:25 a.m. EDT; 0925 UTC)Go Atlas! Go Centaur! Go JPSS-2!
Atlas V to Launch JPSS-2A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket will launch the Joint Polar Satellite (JPSS)-2 civilian polar-orbiting weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA and NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID). Liftoff will occur from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.Launch Date and Time: November 1, 2022 at 2:25 a.m. PDT (5:25 a.m. EDT; 0925 UTC)Go Atlas! Go Centaur! Go JPSS-2!
KSC-20221012-PH_SLG01_0173 Technicians check the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing containing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Oct. 12, 2022. JPSS-2 is stacked atop NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) inside the fairing. 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 a secondary payload on the mission. It 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/Steve Gerlich
Check out NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator's (LOFTID) mission timeline!LOFTID will complete a controlled inflation of its heat shield and then re-enter the atmosphere at a velocity of 18,000 miles per hour.More HERE>> go.nasa.gov/3MFBxgr
https://twitter.com/nasa_marshall/status/1582136902685073408QuoteCheck out NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator's (LOFTID) mission timeline!LOFTID will complete a controlled inflation of its heat shield and then re-enter the atmosphere at a velocity of 18,000 miles per hour.More HERE>> go.nasa.gov/3MFBxgr
JPSS-2 Stacked Atop LOFTID SpacecraftPreparations continue for the launch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite. On Tuesday, Oct. 4, JPSS-2 was attached to its payload adapter inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. On Wednesday, Oct. 5, technicians and engineers completed the mate process using a crane to lift JPSS-2 and attach it to the top of the stack containing the re-entry vehicle for the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, technology demonstration.To prepare LOFTID for stacking, technicians mated the re-entry vehicle payload adapter interface ring to LOFTID inside Building 836 at Vandenberg. Then the team mated the payload adapter separation system inside the re-entry vehicle payload adapter canister. Finally, technicians lifted the payload adapter canister over the re-entry vehicle to complete the stack. The LOFTID stack was moved to Astrotech to complete mating operations with JPSS-2.Next up, the assembly will be encapsulated in a protective payload fairing. After encapsulation, the team will transport the encapsulated spacecraft to Space Launch Complex-3 where a crane will hoist it up for attachment to the second stage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket.JPSS-2 and LOFTID together measure approximately 27 feet tall. Launch is targeted for Nov. 1 from Vandenberg. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch.Photo credit: USSF 30th Spacewing/Aaron TaubmanLast Updated: Oct 18, 2022Editor: Linda Herridge
Technicians stack the JPSS-2 satellite atop the LOFTID spacecraft inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 5, 2022.
A new weather observatory to track storms across the globe and a tech demonstrator developing a new way to safely bring large payloads through the atmosphere are mounted atop a ULA #AtlasV rocket for liftoff Nov. 1 from CA.#JPSS2 #LOFTID Learn more:
