NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) just completed its first successful flight in space. The inflatable heat shield launched with the JPSS-2 satellite on November, 10, 2022 at 4:49 am on an Atlas V rocket. LOFTID hitched a ride on the second stage of the rocket and once the JPSS-2 satellite was set free from the rocket, the second stage deorbited and sent the technology destination on its way.
The biggest concern with the technology team at NASA, was that the heat shield would fail to inflate. But fortunately the deployment went well and it re entered Earth's atmosphere and splashed in the ocean near Hawaii just 2 hours after its launch. It dropped a data recorder in the ocean nearly a mile away from where it landed. When it landed the 13 foot heat shield opened a parachute before landing at around 15 miles per hour.
NASA already had a recovery team waiting out in a boat when it splashed down. The team recovered the spacecraft within minutes of splash down and are now currently on their way home.
LOFTID will help land bigger and heavier spacecraft on Mars and over places. The United Launch Alliance (ULA) also wants to work with NASA to use LOFTID technology on their planned reusable Vulcan rockets.
NASA says the mission was a complete success and even performed better than expected.
This is one of the most critical technologies that we're establishing right now with this mission, and also with that first successful orbital flight and recovery," Jim Reuter, NASA's associate administrator for the space technology mission directorate, said.
Image Source: NASA