{"id":284146,"date":"2022-11-17T17:03:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T22:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-484065"},"modified":"2023-08-02T11:41:40","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T15:41:40","slug":"loftid-inflatable-heat-shield-test-a-success-early-results-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/ames\/loftid-inflatable-heat-shield-test-a-success-early-results-show\/","title":{"rendered":"LOFTID Inflatable Heat Shield Test A Success, Early Results Show"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NASA Successfully Tests LOFTID Inflatable Heat Shield\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9mM1JIPY4Mw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA\u2019s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, launched on Nov. 10, 2022, to demonstrate inflatable heat shield technology that could be key to landing humans on Mars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>About an hour after launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, LOFTD inflated and deployed in space. After being released by the Centaur upper stage, the heat shield, or aeroshell, began its perilous re-entry journey through Earth\u2019s atmosphere, entering the atmosphere at more than 18,000 miles per hour. LOFTID created enough drag to slow to less than 80 miles per hour by the end of its demonstration. At this point, LOFTID\u2019s onboard parachutes deployed, carrying the heat shield to a gentle splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team recovered the LOFTID aeroshell within a few hours, and early indications show that the demonstration was successful. In addition to achieving its primary objective of surviving the intense dynamic pressure and heating of re-entry, it appears that the aft side of the heat shield \u2013 opposite LOFTID\u2019s nose \u2013 was well protected from the re-entry environment. This suggests that inflatable aeroshells can keep payloads safe during atmospheric entry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Full study of LOFTID\u2019s performance is expected to take about a year. The results of the LOFTID demonstration will inform future designs for inflatable heat shields that could be used to land heavier payloads on worlds with atmospheres, including Mars, Venus, Saturn\u2019s moon Titan, and Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more about LOFTID at: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/low-earth-orbit-flight-test-of-an-inflatable-decelerator\">nasa.gov\/loftid<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA\u2019s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, launched on Nov. 10, 2022, to demonstrate inflatable heat shield technology that could be key to landing humans on Mars. About an hour after launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, LOFTD inflated and deployed in space. After being released by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":182032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2854,2863,12385,2864,3335],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[],"coauthors":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"LOFTID Inflatable Heat Shield Test A Success, Early Results Show","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/ames\/loftid-inflatable-heat-shield-test-a-success-early-results-show\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/ames\/loftid-inflatable-heat-shield-test-a-success-early-results-show\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/loftid_results_advisory_photo.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/loftid_results_advisory_photo.jpeg"},"articleSection":"NASA Centers & Facilities","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NASA"}],"creator":["NASA"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["NASA Directorates","Space Technology Mission Directorate","Technology Demonstration Missions Program","Ames Research Center","Langley Research Center","LOFTID (Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator)","Marshall Space Flight Center"],"dateCreated":"2022-11-17T22:03:00Z","datePublished":"2022-11-17T22:03:00Z","dateModified":"2023-08-02T15:41:40Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"LOFTID Inflatable Heat Shield Test A Success, Early Results Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/ames\/loftid-inflatable-heat-shield-test-a-success-early-results-show\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/loftid_results_advisory_photo.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2022-11-17T22:03:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"NASA Directorates,Space Technology Mission Directorate,Technology Demonstration Missions Program,Ames Research Center,Langley Research Center,LOFTID (Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator),Marshall Space Flight Center\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"NASA\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":2,"time_ago":"2 years","featured_image":{"id":182032,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/loftid_results_advisory_photo.jpeg","title":"loftid_results_advisory_photo","alt":"","caption":"The Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, heat shield was recovered from the Pacific Ocean on Nov. 10, shortly after it completed its demonstration and splashed down. NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center\u2019s Fiber Optic Sensing System collected temperature data on LOFTID as it re-entered the atmosphere and landed in the Pacific Ocean."},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284146"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284146"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":375979,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284146\/revisions\/375979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284146"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=284146"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=284146"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=284146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}