Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator
{{redirect|LOFTID|Loftið|National Theatre of Iceland}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
|name = Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID)
|image = Loftid image widescreen copy.png
|image_caption = LOFTID In Space
|mission_type = Inflatable decelerator
|operator = NASA
|launch_date = November 10, 2022
|launch_rocket = Atlas V 401
|mission_duration = {{time interval|November 10, 2022 09:49:00|November 10, 2022 12:00:00|show=hm|sep=,}}
|landing_date = {{end-date|November 10, 2022}}
|landing_site = Pacific Ocean
}}
Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) was a NASA mission to test inflatable reentry systems.[https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/loftid/index.html Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID)] It was the first such test of an inflatable decelerator from Earth-orbital speed.
LOFTID was launched on an Atlas V 401 in November 2022 as a secondary payload, along with the JPSS-2 weather satellite.{{cite web |last=Gebhardt |first=Chris |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/11/jpss-2-launch/ |title=Atlas rocket bids farewell to California as ULA readies for Vulcan |work=NASASpaceFlight |date=10 November 2022 |access-date=10 November 2022}} It deployed successfully and landed in the ocean near Hawaii on November 10, 2022, which NASA stated on November 17 was a "huge success".[https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/science/nasa-loftid-inflatable-heat-shield.html NASA Launched an Inflatable Flying Saucer, Then Landed It in the Ocean]{{Cite web |last=Strickland |first=Ashley |date=2022-11-17 |title=Inflatable heat shield a 'huge success' that could land humans on Mars, NASA says |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/17/world/loftid-heat-shield-nasa-success-scn/index.html |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=CNN |language=en}}
History
LOFTID is the latest in a string of successful Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) development efforts. HIADs have a Viking-era genesis; developed by engineers at the NASA Langley Research Center as a possible system for crewed reentry. However, HIAD development ceased in the mid-1970s when it was shown disk-gap-band supersonic parachutes were suitable for the Viking, Pioneer Venus and Galileo mission environments.{{cite report|title= Historical Review of Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator Technology Development|last1=Smith |first1= Brandon P.|last2=Tanner|first2= Christopher L.|last3=Mahzari|first3= Milad|last4=Clark|first4= Ian G.|last5=Braun|first5= Robert D.|last6=Cheatwood|first6= F. McNeil |url=https://hdl.handle.net/1853/74116 |date=March 2010 |publisher=Georgia Tech|access-date=February 22, 2025}} More recently, the need to enable robotic and crewed missions with larger payload mass has generated new investment in HIAD development. Starting in 2006 with the Program to Advance Inflatable Decelerators for Atmospheric Entry (PAIDAE),{{cite report|title=Thermal Analysis and Testing of Candidate Materials for PAIDAE Inflatable Aeroshell |first1=Joseph A. |last1=Del Corso |first2=Walter E. |last2=Bruce, III |first3=Kaitlin A. |last3=Liles |first4=Stephen J. |last4=Hughes
|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20090019746/downloads/20090019746.pdf |publisher=NASA |access-date=February 22, 2025 |date=August 2024 }} HIADs have undergone a series of incremental development efforts including design and analysis, ground based materials testing, manufacturing, wind-tunnel testing and flight tests and demonstrations. Two successful NASA Langley Research Center led sub-orbital flight demonstrations of HIAD technology have occurred; Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment 2 (IRVE-2) {{cite book | chapter-url=https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2010-7515 | doi=10.2514/6.2010-7515 | chapter=IRVE-II Post-Flight Trajectory Reconstruction | title=AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference | date=2010 | last1=O'Keefe | first1=Stephen | last2=Bose | first2=David | hdl=2060/20100031103 | isbn=978-1-62410-151-9 }} and IRVE-3 {{cite book | chapter-url=https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2013-1390 | doi=10.2514/6.2013-1390 | chapter=IRVE-3 Post-Flight Reconstruction | title=AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems (ADS) Conference | date=2013 | last1=Olds | first1=Aaron | last2=Beck | first2=Roger | last3=Bose | first3=David M. | last4=White | first4=Joseph | last5=Edquist | first5=Karl T. | last6=Hollis | first6=Brian R. | last7=Lindell | first7=Michael | last8=Cheatwood | first8=F. M. | last9=Gsell | first9=Valerie | last10=Bowden | first10=Ernest L. | hdl=2060/20130013398 | isbn=978-1-62410-202-8 }} were flown in 2009 and 2012 respectively. LOFTID is the first orbital flight of a HIAD and the largest blunt bunt aeroshell entry to date.
Design
It inflates to 6 metres (about 20 feet) in diameter.{{cite web |title=Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) |website=NASA |date=10 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521232621/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/loftid/index.html |archive-date=2023-05-21 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/loftid/index.html}} Its total mass is about 2,400 lb (1,000 kg).
It is formed from 7 inflatable tori (6 wide and one narrow), with a flexible woven silicon carbide black ceramic fabric{{cite web |title=NASA Inflatable Heat Shield Finds Strength in Flexibility |website=NASA |date=25 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525004458/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-inflatable-heat-shield-finds-strength-in-flexibility/ |archive-date=2023-05-25 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-inflatable-heat-shield-finds-strength-in-flexibility}}[https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/loftid_cut_away-01.png LOFTID cutaway] thermal protection layer on one side.[https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/loftid_fact_sheet_layout_090922_508.pdf LOFTID factsheet]
Launch, deployment, and results
Launch and deployment (inflation, separation and splashdown from the Atlas V Centaur 2nd stage) were successful.
It reentered the atmosphere at about Mach 29, reached a peak deceleration of about 9 g, and splashed down under a subsonic parachute near Hawaii. NASA stated on November 17 that LOFTID was a "huge success" and able to be used on future missions to Mars.
According to the principal investigator, Dr. Neil Cheatwood, the success means the technology is now ready to use on missions.
Commercial interest
See also
- Inflatable decelerator, including NASA's IRVE and HIAD