升空！JPSS-2和LOFTID成功发射

The Moon makes a stunning backdrop for the successful launch of the third in a series of polar-orbiting weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and our Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) on Nov. 10 at 4:49 a.m. EST from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carried the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-2 and LOFTID.

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.

Following JPSS-2’s deployment, the LOFTID heat shield autonomously inflated and re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, splashing down about 500 miles off the coast of Hawaii just over two hours and ten minutes after launch.

Image Credit: United Launch Alliance

11月10日上午4点49分，美国东部时间11月10日，美国国家海洋和大气管理局（NOAA）在加州范登堡太空部队基地成功发射了第三颗极地轨道气象卫星，并成功进行了充气式减速器（LOFTID）近地轨道飞行试验。联合发射联盟的宇宙神Ⅴ号运载火箭携带了联合极地卫星系统（JPSS）-2和LOFTID。

JPSS-2将在距离地球512英里的高空每天环绕地球14次，加入其前身Suomi国家极地轨道伙伴关系(Suomi NPP)和NOAA-20的行列，为天气预报人员提供三颗同时运行的极地轨道卫星。

在JPSS-2部署之后，LOFTID隔热罩自动膨胀并重新进入地球大气层，在发射后2小时10分钟左右，在距离夏威夷海岸约500英里的地方溅落。
影像来源：United Launch Alliance