Heat islide6/5/2023 ![]() We need to maximize the drag area of the entry system. "To land more mass you have to have more drag. "We'd like to be able to land more mass on Mars," said Neil Cheatwood, IRVE's principal investigator and chief scientist of the Hypersonics Project within NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program. For the test, the silicon-coated Kevlar aeroshell is vacuum-packed inside a 16-inch (40.6 cm) diameter cylinder, but once it unfurls and is pumped full of nitrogen it is almost 10 feet (3 m) wide.Įngineers say the concept could help land bigger objects on Mars. The Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment, or IRVE, looks like a giant mushroom when it's inflated. They will test a technology demonstrator from a small sounding rocket to be launched at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Va. Researchers from NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., are working to develop a new kind of lightweight inflatable spacecraft outer shell to slow and protect reentry vehicles as they blaze through the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. But it's hard to imagine an inflatable spacecraft. Hot air balloons have been around for more than two centuries and blimps are a common sight over many sports stadiums. ![]() The larger the diameter of the aeroshell, the bigger the payload can be. To land more mass on Mars at higher surface elevations, for instance, mission planners need to maximize the drag area of the entry system. Inflatable heat shields hold promise for future planetary missions, according to researchers. "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 inflation of the shield took less than 90 seconds. Less than a minute later it was released from its cover and started inflating on schedule at 124 miles (199.5 km) up. The Black Brant 9 rocket took about four minutes to lift the experiment to an altitude of 131 miles (211 km). ![]() Now that we've proven the concept, we'd like to build more advanced aeroshells capable of handling higher heat rates." "This was a huge success," said Mary Beth Wusk, IRVE project manager, based at Langley. Nitrogen inflated the 10-foot (3 m) diameter heat shield, made of several layers of silicone-coated industrial fabric, to a mushroom shape in space several minutes after liftoff. The Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment, or IRVE, was vacuum-packed into a 15-inch diameter payload "shroud" and launched on a small sounding rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. This was the first time anyone has successfully flown an inflatable reentry capsule, according to engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center. A successful NASA flight test has shown that a spacecraft returning to Earth can use an inflatable heat shield to slow and protect itself as it enters the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. ![]()
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