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posted by cmn32480 on Tuesday June 09 2015, @02:41PM   Printer-friendly
from the rocket-rocket-go! dept.

In NASA's bid to land increasingly heavy payloads on Mars they've had to reinvent the parachute, and helping test these new designs is the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator, or LDSD. The flat disc platform is lifted by balloon from the island of Kauai in Hawaii, then spin-stabilized and launched into the upper atmosphere to re-enter and test parachutes at air pressures and other conditions most like those on Mars. The second test is scheduled for June 8, 2015, around 1:30pm EST for initial balloon lift, with rocket burn and parachute test approximately three hours later. Should be quite the video if it goes anything like the first launch did.

UPDATE1: The full 4 hour Youtube video is now available for viewing.

UPDATE2: NASA's blog site reports:

Two experimental decelerator technologies – a supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator and a supersonic parachute – were tested. The supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator deployed and inflated. The supersonic parachute also deployed; however, it did not perform as expected. Data were obtained on the performance of both innovative braking technologies, and the teams are beginning to study the data.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @10:40PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @10:40PM (#194284)

    Actually not a by-product. Gas was in ground with the other gas. Many He fields are in Texas. It is being drawn to surface with other gases.

    The question is do you think all that He is being saved, to is it being released like natural gas at oil wells are flare off instead for being shipped?