NASA successfully launched the third in a series of polar-orbiting weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at 1:49 a.m. PST Thursday, as well as a demonstration of the agency’s technology on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. In addition to the latest Joint Polar Satellite System, or JPSS-2, the flight test of NASA’s Low Orbit Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, was also on board, a test of inflatable heat shield technology that could one day help land astronauts on Mars.
Mission managers for NOAA JPSS-2 confirm that the satellite is now in solar acquisition mode (initial operation mode) with a fully developed solar array. The operations team will continue to evaluate the earlier solar array deployment issue, but at this time the satellite is fine and performing as expected. The team resumed normal activities for the JPSS-2 mission.
“NOAA is an important partner for NASA in providing essential data on climate change, weather forecasting and environmental modeling for the benefit of citizens in the U.S. and around the world,” said NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana. “Our Launch Services Program successfully launched its 100th primary mission and on the same flight allowed us to test new atmospheric reentry technology with the LOFTID demonstration.”
JPSS-2 will circle the globe 14 times a day 512 miles above Earth, giving forecasters the benefit of three polar-orbiting satellites working simultaneously, joining its predecessors Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) and NOAA-20.
“Exploring the unknown on our planet for the benefit of our fellow citizens is in our DNA,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “The data that JPSS-2 will send back to our NASA and NOAA scientists on the ground will be critical to saving lives on Earth and in space.” The JPSS fleet will assist with weather forecasting, help predict extreme weather events and help track and monitor climate change. JPSS-2 will be renamed NOAA-21 after reaching final orbit. The devices start collecting data about a month after launch.
“As partners, NOAA and NASA have successfully launched more than 60 satellite missions that have significantly improved weather forecasting, solar tracking and climate predictions,” said Steve Volz, director of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service. “The launch of JPSS-2 is just the latest example of what our collective agencies can accomplish for the benefit of the nation and the world.” After deploying JPSS-2, the LOFTID heat shield autonomously inflated and re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, landing about 500 miles off the coast of Hawaii just over two hours and ten minutes after liftoff.
Inflatable heat shields – also known as aeroshells – could allow heavier payloads to land on worlds such as Mars, Venus and Saturn’s moon Titan, as well as return large components and samples to Earth. Inflatable aeroshells are not limited by the diameter of the launch vehicle fairing, so they can be made much larger than conventional rigid aeroshells. Larger aeroshells provide more drag, allowing them to slow down heavier payloads to enter the atmosphere—for example, the many tons of equipment needed for manned missions to Mars.
“Exploring new technologies through flight tests is one of the main ways we expand the capabilities for future missions,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Directorate. “We were pleased to work with our colleagues at ULA, NASA and NOAA to perform this technology demonstration in conjunction with the JPSS-2 launch.”
The LOFTID team will review detailed data from the demo after restoring the aeroshell and the launchable data module to evaluate how the aeroshell performed. Demonstration results will be shared as they become available.
NOAA funds and manages the JPSS program, operations, and data products. On behalf of NOAA, NASA develops and builds instruments and spacecraft and launches satellites. NASA developed the ground system that NOAA operates and maintains. The launch service was managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
LOFTID is a partnership between NASA and ULA. The mission is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, an advanced programs manager at ULA who died in August 2020 and was a proponent of technologies like LOFTID that can lower the cost of access to space.
Project LOFTID is managed and funded through NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions program, part of the agency’s Space Technology Directorate. The project is led by NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with contributions from NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
