You can watch the launch of the new weather and climate monitoring satellite from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The JPSS-2 is scheduled to lift off at 4:25 a.m. on Thursday. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled to be launched at 1:45 a.m. You can watch it here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency. The sun rises at 1:45 pm
It is possible to see the launch from the California coast. If you are a night owl and live in the Golden State, you might want to look up at the appointed time.
A powerful new Earth-monitoring satellite is being used to study weather.
Once it reaches its final destination, it will be operated by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Two other JPSS spaceships are circling the globe 14 times a day and surveying the planet twice a day.
Data about Earth's surface temperatures, cloud densities and aerosols will be collected by the instrument suite in order to improve weekly weather forecasts and severe weather predictions.
According to Jordan Gerth, a scientist for the National Weather Service, JPSS-2's contributions are global in scope and have very local applications.
The observations are around the world. Gerth stated that the predictions are local. The quality of local three to seven day weather forecasts is outstanding.
Along with helping you decide whether or not to grab your umbrella before heading out the door, JPSS-2 will also monitor sea ice, algae blooms, wildfires, ocean surface temperatures and temperatures in Earth's atmosphere to contribute data to an archive of climate research for global weather models.
A single RL10-1 engine and no solid rocket boosters will power the vehicle's upper stage. The Atlas V is the last one to ever be launched from the base.
"We're launching the last Atlas V from the West Coast, enabling ULA to have some huge capability out of here with their Vulcan vehicle," said Capt. ULA's next- generation rocket is called Ulcan and is scheduled to debut in 2023.
The LOFTID is tucked underneath the Atlas V's fairing. LOFTID is a demonstration of an extendable heat shield.
One of the hardest things to do in spaceflight is punch a spaceship through planetary atmospheres. According to agency officials, inflatable heat shields have the potential to increase the maximum amount of cargo NASA can carry. LOFTID's flight will give important data about how hardware performs in the harsh environment after being in the air.
LOFTID's reentry procedure was explained by Joe Del Corso.
During Tuesday's media call, Del Corso said that after delivering JPSS-2 to Earth, the second stage will deorbit the LOFTID vehicle, turn the LOFTID vehicle on, and then LOFTID will inflate the aeroshell.
LOFTID's reentry will be recorded by a host of onboard sensors, whose data collection will include "temperatures across the aeroshell, pressures and heat flux on the nose cap, as well as 360-degree video on six video cameras, and LOFTID will splash down softly under parachutes, and teams will try to recover its contents.
The launch was delayed to allow for the replacement of a battery.
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