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 an agency technology demonstration on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
In addition to the newest Joint Polar Satellite System or JPSS-2, also aboard was NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, a test of inflatable heat shield technology that could one day help land astronauts on Mars.
Mission managers for NOAA’s JPSS-2 confirm the satellite is now in Sun acquisition mode (initial operations mode) with the solar array fully deployed. The operations team will continue to evaluate an earlier solar array deployment issue, but at this time, the satellite is healthy and operating as expected. The team has resumed normal activities for the JPSS-2 mission.
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“NOAA is an important partner for NASA in providing essential data about climate change, weather prediction, and environmental modeling for the benefit of citizens both in the U.S. and around the world,” said NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana. “Our Launch Services Program has successfully launched its 100th primary mission, and on this same flight enabled us to test a new technology for atmospheric re-entry with the LOFTID demonstration.”
JPSS-2 will circle the globe 14 times a day 512 miles above Earth, providing forecasters the benefit of three polar-orbiting satellites operating simultaneously, joining its predecessors Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) and NOAA-20.
“Exploring the unknowns of our planet to 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 in saving lives both 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 when it reaches its final orbit. The instruments will start collecting data about a month after launch.