A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 launch vehicle launched the Joint Polar Satellite System - 2 (JPSS-2) and the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, on 10 November 2022, at 09:49 UTC (01:49 PST, 04:49 EST). JPSS-2, which will be renamed NOAA-21 after reaching orbit, is the latest generation of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) polar-orbiting environmental satellites, designed to capture data to inform weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events. NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, is demonstrating a cross-cutting aeroshell for atmospheric re-entry.
Credit: NASA/United Launch Alliance
Atlas V launches JPSS-2 and LOFTID
