Delta Launch Readiness Review Concludes, Science Briefing Later Today

the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing containing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) inside the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex-3 (SLC-3) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing containing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) is inside the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex-3 (SLC-3) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

Teams from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and United Launch Alliance (ULA) have completed the Delta Launch Readiness Review for the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The review covered preparations for the second launch attempt for the JPSS-2 satellite and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) and focused on the technical readiness for launch. Mission teams were “go” for a second launch attempt, targeted for 1:25 a.m. PST, Thursday, Nov. 10, from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-3.

A science briefing will be held today at 5:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. PST). Tune in to listen live on the agency’s website. Participants include:

  • Jordan Gerth, Meteorologist and Satellite Scientist, NOAA’s National Weather Service
  • Jim Gleason, Senior Project Scientist, Joint Polar Satellite System, NASA
  • Satya Kalluri, JPSS Program Scientist, Joint Polar Satellite System Program, NOAA
  • Heather Kilcoyne, JPSS Ground Project Manager, Joint Polar Satellite System, NOAA
  • Joe Del Corso, LOFTID project manager, NASA’s Langley Research Center

Meteorologists with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 30 Weather Squadron predict a 90% percent chance of favorable weather for launch on Thursday morning.

Launch coverage will begin at 3:45 a.m. EST (12:45 a.m. PST) on Nov. 10. You can follow the countdown milestones here on the blog and on NASA Television.