US weather satellite, test payload launched into space
A satellite intended to improve weather forecasting and an experimental inflatable heat shield to protect spacecraft entering atmospheres were launched into space from California on Thursday.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 satellite and the NASA test payload lifted off at 1:49 a.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base, northwest of Los Angeles.
Developed for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, JPSS-2 was placed into an orbit that circles the Earth from pole to pole, joining previously launched satellites in a system designed to improve weather forecasting and climate monitoring.
The NASA mission blog said there was no immediate data confirming deployment of the solar array that will power the satellite. "There may not be an issue, but we're monitoring closely as more telemetry data becomes available," the post said.
The array has five panels that were collapsed in an accordion fold for launch. The fully deployed array would extend 30 feet (9.1 meters).
Mission officials say the satellite represents the latest technology and will increase precision of observations of the atmosphere, oceans and land.
After releasing the satellite, the rocket's upper stage reignited to position the test payload for re-entry into Earth's atmosphere and descent into the Pacific Ocean.
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United Launch Alliance has successfully launched the third in a series of polar-orbiting weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at 1:49 a.m. PST Thursday, as well as a NASA technology demonstration misison on a ULA Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Mission managers for NOAA's JPSS-2 confirm the satellite is now in Sun 
