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NASA to Demo Inflatable Heat Shield Next Week, Orbit Mission This Fall

Back in the summer of last year, shortly after the Perseverance rover had landed on Mars, NASA presented the idea of an inflatable heat shield. Such a presentation is not something NASA hadn’t done before, so nothing spectacular there, but this shield itself is special, not only through its technology, but because it could help humans land on the Red Planet.
NASA's new heat shield to be inflated for the first time next week 6 photos
Photo: NASA/David C. Bowman
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As usual when it comes to space-bound tech, some tests will be needed first, and this is why NASA came up with something called LOFTID. That’s short for Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, and it’s expected to unfold in September this year in Earth’s orbit.

Until we get there though, the American space agency intends to deploy the shield here on Earth, in front of the media. It will be the first time the shield will be inflated, and this will happen on June 15 at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

The shield is 6 meters (20 feet) in diameter, bigger than the record holder to date, the 4.5 meters/14 feet piece that was developed for the Mars Science Laboratory. Its size is meant to help it slow down the spacecraft faster and at a higher altitude, which means it should heat less.

The interesting part about it is that, unlike current designs, this one can be compressed. When in this state, it measures just 1.2 meters (4 feet) in diameter. This means it will be suitable for pretty much any kind of rocket, regardless of the size of its shroud.

After the test inflation next week, the shield will be prepped for LOFTID. The mission is scheduled to depart at the same time with the NOAA JPSS-2 polar-orbiting satellite, on board a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket.

Once in orbit, the shield should inflate and go for re-entry, to see how it performs.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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