LOFTID Spacecraft Lift RV to Turnover Fixture

Technicians move NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) re-entry vehicle onto a turnover fixture for prelaunch processing inside Building 836 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Aug. 19, 2022. Dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, LOFTID is a technology demonstration mission aimed at validating inflatable heat shield technology for atmospheric re-entry. This technology could enable missions to other planetary bodies, as well as allow NASA to return heavier payloads from low-Earth orbit. LOFTID is a rideshare launching with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite. NASA and NOAA are targeting Nov. 1, 2022, for the launch of JPSS-2 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg.