NASA Launches a new technology, Inflatable Heat Shield for future spacecraft

August 18, 2009 - 2:07 am | 18 views

Technology.am (Aug. 17, 2009) — 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. This was the first time anyone has successfully flown an inflatable reentry capsule.

inflatable heat shield This test could make it possible to land larger payloads on Mars. A vacuum-packed inflatable shroud could enable future spacecraft reentry on both Earth and Mars.

The Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (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.

Nitrogen inflated the 10-foot diameter heat shield, made of several layers of silicone-coated industrial fabric, inflated with nitrogen to a mushroom shape in space several minutes after liftoff.

The Black Brant 9 rocket took approximately four minutes to lift the experiment to an altitude of 131 miles. Less than a minute later it was released from its cover and started inflating on schedule at 124 miles up.

The inflation of the shield took less than 90 seconds.

The Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment is an example of how NASA is using its aeronautics expertise to support the development of future spacecraft.

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