JPSS – Spaceflight Now

NASA, ULA find launch opportunity for inflatable heat shield demonstrator

May 13, 2019 Stephen Clark

A flight demonstration of an inflatable heat shield that could be used to retrieve reusable engines from United Launch Alliance’s next-generation Vulcan rocket, and for the delivery of heavier cargo to the surface of Mars, is planned for launch in late 2021 or early 2022 as a piggyback payload on an Atlas 5 rocket with a NOAA weather satellite.

Photos: Delta 2 climbs into the night from Vandenberg Air Force Base

November 21, 2017 Stephen Clark

Launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California’s Central Coast on its third try, United Launch Alliance’s Delta 2 rocket lifted off Saturday with NOAA’s JPSS 1 polar-orbiting weather satellite.

Penultimate Delta 2 rocket launch lofts advanced polar-orbiting weather satellite

November 18, 2017 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket climbed into space Saturday from California with a $1.6 billion polar-orbiting weather satellite for NOAA, the first of four upgraded observatories designed to keep vital meteorological data flowing to forecasters for the next two decades.

Video: JPSS 1 weather satellite deploys from Delta 2 rocket

November 18, 2017 Stephen Clark

NOAA’s new JPSS 1 weather satellite deployed from its Delta 2 launcher in an orbit more than 500 miles above Earth nearly one hour after blasting off from California.

Video: Delta 2 rocket lifts off from California

November 18, 2017 Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket lifted off Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with the JPSS 1 weather satellite, the first in a new line of polar-orbiting observatories for NOAA.

Delta 2 launch from California halted for second day in a row

November 15, 2017 Stephen Clark

Brisk upper level winds blowing from the west thwarted a second try to launch a new NOAA weather satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket Wednesday, likely postponing the liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California until at least Saturday.

Boats in safety zone, technical problem combine to scrub Delta 2 launch

November 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance called off the launch of a Delta 2 rocket from California’s Central Coast early Tuesday after boats ventured into a restricted safety exclusion zone and engineers ran out of time to resolve a technical problem on the launcher.

Photos: JPSS 1 weather satellite prepped for encapsulation

November 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

NOAA’s JPSS 1 weather satellite is enshrouded inside the nose fairing of a Delta 2 rocket, awaiting liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a seven-year mission to collect data to improve global weather forecasts.

Delta 2 launch timeline with JPSS 1

November 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Delta 2 rocket boosted by nine strap-on motors and two liquid-fueled stages will launch NOAA’s JPSS 1 weather satellite into a 511-mile-high (822-kilometer) orbit following liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Photos: Delta 2 rocket revealed after mobile gantry rollback

November 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

Ground crews at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California retracted a mobile gantry away from the Delta 2 rocket Monday afternoon, revealing the 128-foot-tall (39-meter) booster on its launch pad awaiting liftoff with a new polar-orbiting weather observatory.