# @nasa on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CkzHPJWp1gk
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/1048298-nasa-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/348e290ff0.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-11-10T23:20:10.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** NASA (@NASA) — https://gondola.cc/NASA

## Caption

3, 2, 1... Liftoff! ⁣
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At 4:49 a.m. ET (0949 UTC) from vandenberg_sfb, the final ULALaunch Atlas V rocket to launch from the West Coast lifted off carrying two very different missions to Earth orbit.⁣
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First to deploy was NOAA’s Joint Polar System Satellite 2. JPSS-2 is the third to join the latest series of satellites. JPSS-2 will pass over every single spot in our planet at least twice a day as it collects valuable data that helps feed daily weather models, forecast extreme weather, and monitor climate change.⁣
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We took the ride up, to test tech on the ride down. Our Low-orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), successfully inflated and deployed a cross-cutting aeroshell —a type of heat shield —for atmospheric re-entry. For destinations with an atmosphere, delivering heavy payloads, such as experiments, equipment, and people, can be challenging because current rigid aeroshells are constrained by a rocket’s nosecone size. An inflatable aeroshell can be deployed to a scale much larger than the shroud, which can help enable a variety of proposed missions to destinations such as Mars, Venus, and Titan, as well as return to Earth.⁣
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This successful liftoff marks our Launch Services Program’s 100th mission. Based out of NASAKennedy, the program has matched commercial launch providers with spacecraft needing a lift since 1998. Here’s to giving 100% one hundred times!⁣
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Image descriptions: ⁣
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The Moon in high detail is on the top right of the image, as the Atlas V rocket soars below with flames from the engines trailing behind, surrounded by an expanse of night sky.⁣
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Smoke plumes around the Atlas V rocket, as it begins to launch. The rocket pad and surrounding buildings glow as they reflect the rocket’s bright flame.⁣
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A bird's-eye view of the rocket taking flight, plumes of smoke surround its base.⁣
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LOFTID sits on a ship after being recovered from the Pacific Ocean. It has a wide saucer-like shape. The outside is black, and the inside has inflatable orange rings with a large silver cylinder in the center. ⁣
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Credit: ULA⁣
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#NASA #NOAA #JPSS2 #LOFTID #Rocket #Launch #Satellites #Space #Science #AtlasV

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## Tags

science, satellites, nasa, loftid, rocket, launch, space, jpss2, noaa, atlasv

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