NASA Gets Ready for 'Flying Saucer' Test
- 10 years ago
NASA is getting ready to test a massive decelerator for future Mars missions.
Getting spacecraft to Mars is one thing, landing them safely is entirely another. As NASA looks ahead to future robotic missions and eventually manned missions to the red planet, each spacecraft’s payload will increase dramatically in size. The Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator, is one piece of technology being tested to rapidly decelerate the craft from the high speed of atmospheric entry.
"What we have is an inflatable aerodynamic decelerator. That's the soft goods, this yellow textile article that you see in the side. And what will happen is that this will inflate very rapidly at a fraction of a second, about a third of second and it will increase the size of the aero shell and it will create a surface much larger than the vehicle alone with which we can react against the atmosphere and generate more drag and slow the vehicle down further." [Ian Clark/NASA]
With the first test launch scheduled soon, NASA officials are looking forward not just to a successful flight, but perhaps more importantly, to learning from any unforeseen problems.
Getting spacecraft to Mars is one thing, landing them safely is entirely another. As NASA looks ahead to future robotic missions and eventually manned missions to the red planet, each spacecraft’s payload will increase dramatically in size. The Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator, is one piece of technology being tested to rapidly decelerate the craft from the high speed of atmospheric entry.
"What we have is an inflatable aerodynamic decelerator. That's the soft goods, this yellow textile article that you see in the side. And what will happen is that this will inflate very rapidly at a fraction of a second, about a third of second and it will increase the size of the aero shell and it will create a surface much larger than the vehicle alone with which we can react against the atmosphere and generate more drag and slow the vehicle down further." [Ian Clark/NASA]
With the first test launch scheduled soon, NASA officials are looking forward not just to a successful flight, but perhaps more importantly, to learning from any unforeseen problems.