JPSS-2 Satellite Separates From Second Stage, Traveling on Its Own

The United Launch Alliance Centaur upper stage achieved the desired sun-synchronous, polar low-Earth orbit for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 satellite just over 28 minutes into flight.

Now in low-Earth orbit, the Centaur will perform a deorbit burn, jettison the primary payload adapter, and put Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) on a reentry trajectory enabling it to demonstrate the inflatable aeroshell’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry.

JPSS-2 is 100th Primary Mission for NASA’s Launch Services Program

Launch Services Program logoOn Oct. 1, 1998, NASA consolidated expendable launch vehicle services shared by Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; and Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and created the Expendable Launch Vehicle Program, renamed Launch Services Program in 2000 and based out of Kennedy. On Oct. 24, 1998, Deep Space I launched on a Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex-17 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, followed by 99 more primary missions for the program over the past 34 years.

Today’s successful launch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration marks the program’s 100th primary mission and joins a legacy that includes historic missions such as Pluto New Horizons, the Parker Solar Probe, the Mars rovers, DART, and scores of Earth satellites and science probes.

BECO Complete, Second-Stage Burn in Progress

A United launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket soars upward after liftoff from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 10, carrying 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) technology demonstration. Launch was at 1:49 a.m. PST.
A United launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket soars upward after liftoff from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 10, carrying 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) technology demonstration. Launch was at 1:49 a.m. PST. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

Booster engine cutoff occurred on time, the first and second stages separated as planned, and the Centaur second stage main engine has started its burn. The payload fairing that protected the JPSS-2 satellite during the first minutes of ascent has jettisoned as expected. The second stage main engine will burn for just over 12 minutes, taking the spacecraft towards the Equator and to low-Earth orbit.

Atlas V Rocket Reaches Mach I, Followed by Max-Q

The Moon makes a stunning backdrop for the launch of the third in a series of polar-orbiting weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and our Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) on Nov. 10 at 1:49 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The Moon makes a stunning backdrop for the launch of the third in a series of polar-orbiting weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and our Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) on Nov. 10 at 1:49 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket exceeded the speed of sound around a minute into flight, and soon thereafter reached Max-Q – the moment of maximum dynamic pressure on the rocket. Next up is booster engine cutoff, followed by separation of the first and second stages of the rocket.

JPSS-2 and LOFTID Launch!

The Moon makes a stunning backdrop for the successful launch of the third in a series of polar-orbiting weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and our Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) on Nov. 10 at 1:49 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-2 civilian polar-orbiting weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) tech demo lifts off from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1:49 a.m. PST Nov. 10, 2022.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite, with NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration along for the ride, lifted off from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California this morning, Nov. 10! Powered by 860,000 pounds of thrust from the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket’s RD-180 engine, launch occurred at 1:49 a.m. PST.

Launch Director – ‘Go’ For Launch

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite with NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) as a secondary payload, stand ready to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 10.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite with NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) as a secondary payload, stand ready to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 10. Photo credit: NASA

The launch director has just given the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission a ‘go’ for launch! Mission and launch managers are counting down to the launch of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launch is scheduled less than five minutes from now.

JPSS-2, and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) which is hitching a ride, should reach the desired orbit just over 28 minutes into flight. A single burn of ULA’s Centaur upper stage will place JPSS-2 into a sun-synchronous, polar low-Earth orbit for deployment. Two subsequent burns by Centaur will lower the altitude and put LOFTID on a re-entry trajectory.

This will be the 41st flight of the Atlas V 401 rocket, the most flown of all the configurations. This rocket, designated AV-098, features a four-meter-diameter Extended Payload Fairing (EPF), no solid rocket boosters and a single RL10C-1 engine on the Centaur. The JPSS-2 launch will be the 301st and final Atlas mission from Vandenberg dating back to 1959, as ULA transitions to its Vulcan rocket.

JPSS-2 is currently the last mission contracted by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, to fly on the venerable Atlas V and marks the 100th primary mission for the program since 1998.

Coming Up: Liftoff of the JPSS-2 Satellite Mission, LOFTID Tech Demo

The Mobile Service Tower rolls back from the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-2 civilian polar-orbiting weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
The Mobile Service Tower rolls back from the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket carrying the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-2 polar-orbiting weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance

In just under 10 minutes, from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket carrying National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite will rumble to life, sending it and NASA’s secondary payload, the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration, on their missions. The fuel fill sequence has been initiated, and the rocket is being fueled with liquid oxygen (LO2) and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1).

Prior to launch, originally targeted for 1:25 a.m. PST and moved to 1:49 a.m. PST, several sequences will be performed to ensure launch success. The fuel fill sequence will be completed, water deluge system actuation pressure adjustment will be performed, the LO2 in the Atlas booster and Centaur second stage will reach flight levels, as well as the liquid hydrogen fuel levels in the Centaur. Final launch polls are conducted and after a “go” to continue countdown is given, the spacecraft transfers to internal power and an automatic computer sequencer takes control for all critical events through liftoff. Fuel tanks reach flight pressure, and the Atlas first stage and Centaur upper stage switch to internal power. The launch control system is enabled, and ‘go’ for launch is verified before entering terminal countdown.

JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series and is designed to scan the Earth as it orbits from the North to the South Pole, crossing the equator 14 times a day to provide full global coverage twice a day. Operating from about 512 miles above Earth, JPSS-2 is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change.

LOFTID is a technology demonstration of a cross-cutting inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, designed for atmospheric re-entry. The mission is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, a manager of advanced programs at ULA who championed lower-cost access to space and technologies to make that a reality. The technology demonstrated by LOFTID could be used for crewed and large robotic missions to Mars.

NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for managing the launch service. LOFTID is managed by the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with contributions from various NASA centers: Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California; Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; and Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

Stay connected with the mission on social media, and let people know you’re following it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the hashtags #JPSS2 and #LOFTID and tag these accounts:

Twitter: @NASA@NOAA@NOAASatellites@JPSSProgram@NASA_LSP@NASAKennedy@NASAEarth@NASAGoddard@NASALangley@NASA_Technology@ULALaunch
Facebook: NASANOAA SatellitesNASA LSPNASA KennedyNASA EarthNASA_LangleyNASA Technology
Instagram: NASANASA KennedyNOAA SatellitesNASAEarthNASA_Langley

About the JPSS-2 Mission, LOFTID Technology Demonstration

The Mobile Service Tower rolls back from the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket carrying the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-2 polar-orbiting weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance
The Mobile Service Tower rolls back from the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket carrying the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-2 polar-orbiting weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) on Nov. 10, 2022, from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance

Every day and every night, polar-orbiting satellites circle the Earth many times, collecting data that feed weather forecasts and help us understand extreme weather and climate change. These advanced weather satellites make up NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System, which began monitoring the Earth in 2011 and will continue into the 2030s.

The Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite is part of a long history of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) and NASA satellites that date back to 1960, when the first weather satellite, TIROS-1 launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. JPSS-2 will be followed over the next decade by two more nearly identical satellites, JPSS-3 and JPSS-4, which will continue to provide data used by NOAA’s National Weather Service to forecast weather three to seven days in advance.

JPSS-2 is about the size of a sedan at 14 feet tall by 7 feet wide, and it weighs 5,567 pounds – about the weight of an adult male rhinoceros. It is powered by solar panels that harness the Sun’s energy and its length stretches to 35 feet when its solar array is deployed.

The satellite features four highly sophisticated instruments to measure weather and climate conditions on Earth: The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) sees through clouds like an X-ray and can view the structure of the atmosphere underneath those clouds and inside of storms; the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) measures in the infrared and visible part of the spectrum and can image hurricanes, floods, dust storms, cloud patterns, ocean color, and help locate and map wildfires; the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) works together with ATMS to take detailed measurements of the atmospheric conditions needed to generate extreme weather forecasts days in advance; and the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) consists of sensors to track the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere and measure sulfur dioxide and other aerosols emitted from volcanoes and particulates from wildfires.

As JPSS-2 makes its way to a polar Earth orbit, NASA’s rideshare technology demonstration, NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), will descend back to Earth and land in the Pacific Ocean. With splashdown just over two hours after launch, LOFTID is unique in that all operations will occur within a few hours of launch. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or return of heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

NASA’s LOFTID is managed by Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with contributions from Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and multiple U.S. small businesses that contributed to the hardware. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for NASA oversight of launch operations.

We’re now less than thirty minutes away from the launch of JPSS-2 and LOFTID. Follow along here on the blog for live updates, and watch NASA TV or the agency’s website for the live launch broadcast.

Live Coverage of JPSS-2 and LOFTID Launch Begins

Atlas V rocket with JPSS-2 and LOFTID on the pad.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite with NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) as a secondary payload, stand ready to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Liz Wilk

Hello, and welcome to NASA’s live coverage of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission! Tune in to NASA Television, the NASA app, or the agency’s website, or follow along here on the mission blog for a look at all of today’s major milestones.

JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series and is designed to scan the Earth as it orbits from the North to the South Pole, crossing the equator 14 times a day to provide full global coverage twice a day. Along with NASA’s secondary payload, Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) – a technology demonstration of a cross-cutting inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, designed for atmospheric re-entry – JPSS-2 is set to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The 36-minute launch window begins at 1:25 a.m. PST.

Today’s launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, while LOFTID is managed by the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Our coverage on the blog originates from the NASA News Center at Kennedy.

Together, NOAA and NASA partner in the development, launch, testing, and operation of all satellites in the JPSS series. NASA develops and builds the instruments, spacecraft, and ground system, in addition to launching the satellites on behalf of NOAA, which operates the satellites.

Here’s a look at some of today’s ascent milestones. All times are approximate:

LAUNCH AND SPACECRAFT DEPLOYMENT
All Times Approximate
Hr/Min/Sec    Event
00:01:18         Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:04:02         Booster engine cutoff (BECO)
00:04:08         Stages I and II separate
00:04:18         Stage II main engine startup (MES1)
00:04:26         Payload fairing jettison
00:17:22         Stage II first engine cutoff – direct injection burn (MECO1)
00:28:22         JPSS-2 separation
00:45:41         Stage II second engine startup (MES2)
00:46:24         Stage II second engine cutoff (MECO2)
01:05:34         Stage III third engine startup (MES3)
01:06:00         Stage III third engine cutoff (MECO3)
01:16:31         LOFTID re-entry vehicle separation
01:43:06         End of mission
02:05:00        LOFTID splashdown and demonstration complete

Weather 90% Favorable for Tomorrow’s Launch

NASA is targeting 1:25 a.m. PST, tomorrow, Nov. 10, for launch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite. The launch window is 36 minutes. JPSS-2, with NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) as a secondary payload, will lift off atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Weather officials with the U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 30 are predicting a greater than 90% chance of favorable weather conditions for tomorrow’s launch, with ground winds serving as the primary weather concern.

JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series and is designed to scan the Earth as it orbits from the North to the South Pole, crossing the equator 14 times a day to provide full global coverage twice a day. Operating from about 512 miles above Earth, JPSS-2 is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change.

LOFTID is a technology demonstration of a cross-cutting inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, designed for atmospheric re-entry. The mission is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, a manager of advanced programs at ULA who championed lower-cost access to space and technologies to make that a reality. The technology demonstrated by LOFTID could be used for crewed and large robotic missions to Mars.

Together, NASA and NOAA partner in the development, launch, testing, and operation of all satellites in the JPSS series. NASA develops and builds the instruments, spacecraft, and ground system, in addition to launching the satellites on behalf of NOAA, which operates the satellites.

NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for managing the launch service.

Join us tonight at 11 p.m. EST (8 p.m. PST) live on NASA TV and YouTube for the JPSS-2 and LOFTID Tower Rollback Show hosted by NASA Edge.

Then beginning at 3:45 a.m. EST (12:45 a.m. PST) on Nov.10, join us for live coverage on NASA TV or the agency’s website for the launch broadcast and follow along with us here on the blog as well.