Tag: United Launch Alliance

NASA’s LOFTID Demonstration Arrives in California for Launch

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. LOFTID is a rideshare launching with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite. NASA is targeting launch for Tuesday, Nov. 1, from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-3 East. Photo credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Dan Quinajon

NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California Monday, Aug. 15. The technology demonstration mission is slated to test new capabilities for landing payloads, including in a thinner atmosphere like that on Mars.

Teams working in Building 836 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California remove NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) from its shipping container on Monday, Aug. 15. Photo credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Dan Quinajon

LOFTID is a rideshare launching with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite. After arriving and unloading in Building 836, the spacecraft will undergo processing before mating to their payload adapter (PLA) and installation in the larger PLA canister. The LOFTID PLA canister assembly will move to the Astrotech Space Operations Facility, where teams will mate JPSS-2 on top of the assembly and encapsulate the entire stack in the protective payload fairing. The team will then attach the encapsulated spacecraft and re-entry vehicle to a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket. NASA is targeting launch for Tuesday, Nov. 1, from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-3 East.

When deployed, LOFTID’s inflatable aeroshell is about 20 feet (6 meters) in diameter and acts as a giant brake. It is protected by a woven flexible thermal protection system. Current rigid aeroshells are constrained by a rocket’s fairing size, but an inflatable aeroshell could be deployed to a much larger scale and apply more drag to the spacecraft.

After JPSS-2 reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. NASA plans to recover LOFTID after it splashes down.

The LOFTID project is a part of the Technology Demonstration Missions program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. The project is managed by NASA’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. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for managing the launch service.

NOAA’s JPSS-2 Environmental Satellite Arrives at Launch Site

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite is removed from its shipping container inside the airlock of the Astrotech processing facility on Aug. 20, 2022, at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. JPSS-2 was shipped from the Northrop Grumman facility in Gilbert, Arizona, where it was built and tested. 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.
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite is removed from its shipping container inside the airlock of the Astrotech processing facility on Aug. 20, 2022, at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) is now at Vandenberg Space Force Base California, ahead of its mission to scan the Earth from orbit.

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite is rotated to a vertical position after it was removed from its shipping container inside the airlock of the Astrotech processing facility on Aug. 20, 2022, at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. JPSS-2 was shipped from the Northrop Grumman facility in Gilbert, Arizona, where it was built and tested. 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/Randy Beaudoin
NASA and NOAA’s JPSS-2 satellite is rotated to a vertical position after it was removed from its shipping container inside the airlock of the Astrotech processing facility on Aug. 20, 2022, at VSFB. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

A transport truck originating from Northrop Grumman’s facility in Gilbert, Arizona – where the spacecraft’s instruments were integrated – arrived Aug. 19, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility at Vandenberg, where the satellite is slated to undergo final preparations before launch. Arriving ahead of the satellite were three trucks of equipment needed to support the next two and half months of processing JPSS-2 to ready it for operations.

JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) 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 will capture data to inform weather forecasts, in turn helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change.

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.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket will launch JPSS-2 into orbit from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-3E Tuesday, Nov. 1. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for managing the launch service.

Rocket Arrives in California for NASA Launch of Polar-Orbiting Satellite

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V booster is offloaded from its water transport at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on July 11, 2022, for NASA and NOAA’s 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 the final ULA Atlas V rocket to launch from Vandenberg. 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.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V booster is offloaded from its water transport at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on July 11, 2022, for NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

Flight hardware for the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket slated to launch the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) has arrived in California. The rocket’s boattail and interstage adapter arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base July 28 for processing ahead of launch. The payload fairings arrived Aug. 8.

The interstage adapter (ISA) for the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket that will launch NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) mission arrives at the Horizontal Integration Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on July 28, 2022. The ISA is the connecting piece of hardware between the Atlas V booster and the rocket’s Centaur upper stage. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series and will scan the Earth as it orbits from the North to the South Pole, crossing the equator 14 times a day. Operating from 512 miles above Earth, JPSS-2 will capture data to improve weather forecasts, in turn helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. Launching as a secondary payload aboard the Atlas V is NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) – a demonstration of a cross-cutting aeroshell, or heat shield, for atmospheric re-entry. Dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, LOFTID could be used for crewed and large robotic missions to Mars. Liftoff of the ULA Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 1, 2022, from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-3E.
The interstage adapter for the ULA Atlas V rocket that will launch NASA and NOAA’s JPSS-2 mission arrives at the Horizontal Integration Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on July 28, 2022. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

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. Liftoff is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 1, from Space Launch Complex-3E on Vandenberg.

The interstage adapter is the connecting piece of hardware between the Atlas V booster and the rocket’s Centaur upper stage, while the boattail connects the Centaur to the payload fairing that will house the JPSS-2 satellite. The payload fairings are a protective covering that will encapsulate the spacecraft and keep it safe as the rocket ascends rapidly through the atmosphere. The payload fairings are a critical piece of hardware built specifically to accommodate the satellite, and are a key feature of the launch vehicle.

As processing continues at Vandenberg, teams at the Northrop Grumman facility in Gilbert, Arizona, are preparing the spacecraft for its mission, having recently installed the solar array that will power the spacecraft. After installing the solar array, the team packed the satellite for shipment, installed a protective cover, and enclosed the satellite in its shipping container. Ground support equipment for the satellite has already started arriving at Vandenberg to be ready to support spacecraft arrival.

A crew offloaded the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V payload fairing from its transport container in building B7525 at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Aug. 8, 2022, for 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 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.
A crew offloaded the ULA Atlas V payload fairing from its transport container in building B7525 at Vandenberg on Aug. 8, 2022, for NASA and NOAA’s JPSS-2 satellite mission. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

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.

Riding as a secondary payload aboard the Atlas V is NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) – a demonstration of a cross-cutting inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, 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.

Once JPSS-2 reaches orbit, LOFTID will be put on a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. The project is sponsored by the Technology Demonstration Missions program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in partnership with ULA. 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.

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