Launch of JPSS-2 Weather Satellite & LOFTID Mars Tech Demo (Official NASA Broadcast)

Watch live as a new weather forecasting satellite and experimental Mars technology take to the skies.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) is set to launch Nov. 6 at 5:50 a.m. EST (1050 UTC) aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. JPSS-2 is a new generation polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite system.

Also aboard the Atlas V 401 rocket will be the secondary payload, NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID). LOFTID will demonstrate inflatable heat shield technology for atmospheric entry and re-entry. This technology could enable a variety of proposed NASA missions to destinations such as Mars, Venus, and Titan, as well as returning heavier payloads from low-Earth orbit.

More on NASA climate science missions: https://nasa.gov/climate

Credit: NASA