NASA and NOAA to launch weather satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base overnight

VANDENBERG, Calif. – NASA and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) said they're still on schedule to launch the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Atlas V rocket on Thursday at 1:25 a.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

This launch is part of NOAA and NASA's Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission, which will be the third JPSS launch out of three in its series.

The mission of the Joint Polar Satellite System is to support essential forecasts for extreme weather events, feed daily weather models, and monitor climate change, according to NOAA.

"NOAA’s National Weather Service uses this data to increase the accuracy of forecasts three to seven days in advance of a severe weather event," said NOAA. "These forecasts allow for early warnings and enable emergency managers to make timely decisions to protect American lives and property, including ordering effective evacuations."

Also attached to the Thursday morning Atlas V rocket launch as a "secondary payload" is NASA's experiment called the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID.

In NOAA's informational video, the organization said that LOFTID is "a demonstration of an inflatable heat shield technology that could one day help land humans on Mars."

All aboard the Atlas V rocket is set to launch from Vandenberg Thursday morning, reaching a top speed of nearly 10,000 mph to first deliver JPSS-2 into a sun-synchronous, low-Earth orbit.

Then, the LOFTID experiment will separate from the Atlas V and re-enter the atmosphere, deploy its parachute and land in the water about two hours post-launch in Hawaii, where it will be retrieved from the Pacific Ocean according to NOAA.

This launch was originally scheduled for Nov. 1, but was delayed due to a mechanical error on the day of liftoff – NOAA'S JPSS-2-civilian polar-orbiting weather satellite onboard the rocket was in need of a battery replacement before it will be safe and cleared for departure.

For more information on this mission, click here.