Inflatable Spacecraft Shield Works, Space Test Shows

FYI,

"Inflatable Spacecraft Shield Works, Space Test Shows"
Space.com

: NASA launched an inflatable spacecraft heat shield on Monday to
: test the technology for use on future space missions.

: The test flight lofted a vacuum-packed shroud atop a small sounding
: rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.
: Several minutes after liftoff, the shield inflated to a
: 10-foot-diameter (3 m) mushroom shape, and fell back down to Earth.

: The experiment showed that such a device could be used to slow and
: protect a space capsule as it enters the atmosphere at hypersonic
: speeds. The material - several layers of silicone-coated Kevlar
: - could be used to insulate a crew and cargo from the searing
: temperatures of re-entry.

: "This was a huge success," said Mary Beth Wusk, project manager for
: the Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE), based at
: Langley. "IRVE was a small-scale demonstrator. Now that we've
: proven the concept, we'd like to build more advanced aeroshells
: capable of handling higher heat rates."

: Today's test flight was the first time anyone has successfully
: flown an inflatable re-entry capsule, according to engineers at
: NASA's Langley Research Center.

: The experiment flew to an altitude of 131 miles atop a Black
: Brant 9 rocket. After a four-minute climb, the shield was released
: from its cover and was pumped full of nitrogen in less than
: 90 seconds.

: "Everything performed well even into the subsonic range where we
: weren't sure what to expect," said Neil Cheatwood, IRVE principal
: investigator and chief scientist for the Hypersonics Project of
: NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate's Fundamental
: Aeronautics Program. "The telemetry looks good. The inflatable
: bladder held up well."

: Scientists are interested in using similar shields to help land
: large objects on Mars.

: "We'd like to be able to land more mass on Mars," Cheatwood said.
: "To land more mass you have to have more drag. We need to maximize
: the drag area of the entry system. We want to make it as big as we
: can, but the limitation has been the launch vehicle diameter."

: The idea of inflatable decelerators has been around for 40 years,
: Cheatwood said, but until now did not seem practical because of
: concerns over whether materials could withstand the heat of
: re-entry. Over time materials have advanced enough to make the
: concept plausible. In addition, a greater understanding of the
: Martian atmosphere gleaned from Mars rovers, landers and orbiters,
: indicates that the plan has potential.

Mark Reiff