posted 11-08-2022 12:29 PM               

Please use this topic to discuss NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) mission, a technology that could one day help land humans on Mars and recover United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket engines for reuse.

posted 11-08-2022 12:33 PM               

After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. The technology could be further developed to support crewed and large robotic missions to destinations such as Mars, Venus, and Titan, as well as returning heavier payloads to Earth.

posted 11-10-2022 01:17 AM               

Watch live as a new weather forecasting satellite and experimental Mars technology take to the skies.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) is now set for launch Thursday, Nov. 10 at 4:25 a.m. EST (0925 UTC).

The mission will lift off aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. JPSS-2 is a new generation polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite system.

Also aboard the Atlas V 401 rocket will be the secondary payload, NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID). LOFTID will demonstrate inflatable heat shield technology for atmospheric entry and re-entry. This technology could enable a variety of proposed NASA missions to destinations such as Mars, Venus, and Titan, as well as returning heavier payloads from low-Earth orbit.

posted 11-10-2022 03:04 PM               

Last night's rough seas have turned into a gorgeous LOFTID Hawaiian day.