{"id":55584,"date":"2015-06-09T17:52:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T21:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-362170"},"modified":"2023-07-26T14:46:20","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T18:46:20","slug":"nasas-ldsd-project-completes-second-experimental-test-flight","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasas-ldsd-project-completes-second-experimental-test-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s LDSD Project Completes Second Experimental Test Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/pia19343-ldsd1.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/pia19343-ldsd1.jpg?w=1600\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator \" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/pia19343-ldsd1.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/pia19343-ldsd1.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/pia19343-ldsd1.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/pia19343-ldsd1.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/pia19343-ldsd1.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/pia19343-ldsd1.jpg?resize=400,225 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/pia19343-ldsd1.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/pia19343-ldsd1.jpg?resize=900,506 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/pia19343-ldsd1.jpg?resize=1200,675 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">NASA\u2019s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator hangs from a launch tower at U.S. Navy\u2019s Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii.<br>\nThe saucer-shaped vehicle will test two devices for landing heavy payloads on Mars: an inflatable donut-shaped device and a supersonic parachute.<br>\nThe launch tower helps link the vehicle to a balloon; once the balloon floats up, the vehicle is released from the tower and the balloon carries it to high altitudes. The vehicle\u2019s rocket takes it to even higher altitudes, to the top of the stratosphere, where the supersonic test begins. <strong>Credits: NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1463\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"Two members of the U.S. Navy's Mobile Diving Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 Explosive Ordnance Detachment \" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg 4747w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?resize=300,214 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?resize=768,549 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?resize=1024,731 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?resize=1536,1097 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?resize=2048,1463 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?resize=400,286 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?resize=600,429 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?resize=900,643 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?resize=1200,857 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?resize=2000,1429 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Two members of the U.S. Navy\u2019s Mobile Diving Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 Explosive Ordnance Detachment work on recovering the test vehicle for NASA\u2019s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project. <strong>Credits: U.S. Navy<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Engineers are poring over the data following the second experimental landing technology test of NASA\u2019s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project. The saucer-shaped LDSD craft splashed down at 11:49 a.m. HST (5:49 p.m. EDT) Monday in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During this flight, the project team tested two decelerator technologies that could enable larger payloads to land safely on the surface of Mars, and allow access to more of the planet\u2019s surface by assisting landings at higher-altitude sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDeveloping and demonstrating entry, descent and landing technologies such as supersonic decelerators is critical to enabling our journey to Mars,\u201d said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cThe technologies tested on LDSD are giving us data and insight into the capabilities we\u2019ll need to land more mass than we currently can on Mars, which will enable more capable robotic missions, as well as human precursor missions to the Red Planet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A high-altitude balloon carrying the LDSD test vehicle launched at 7:45 a.m. from the U.S. Navy\u2019s Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai.  As planned, at 11:35 a.m., the vehicle separated from the balloon at about 120,000 feet above the ocean. An onboard rocket motor then took the vehicle to 180,000 feet, where the first braking technology, the Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD), deployed at about Mach 3 at 11:37 a.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fourteen seconds after SIAD inflation, the test vehicle\u2019s parachute was released into the supersonic slipstream, according to plan. Preliminary analysis of imagery and other data received during the test indicates the Supersonic Ringsail parachute deployed. This 100-foot-wide parachute is the largest supersonic parachute ever flown. It has more than double the area of the parachute used for the Mars Science Laboratory mission that carried the Curiosity rover to the surface of Mars. The chute began to generate large amounts of drag and a tear appeared in the canopy at about the time it was fully inflated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEarly indications are that we got what we came for, new and actionable data on our parachute design,\u201d said Mark Adler, project manager for LDSD at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. \u201cAt present, our data is in the form of low-resolution video and some other nuggets of data which were downlinked in real-time. But this will soon change when our test vehicle makes port, and we have the opportunity to inspect the ultra-high resolution, high-speed imagery and other comprehensive information carried in the memory cards on board our saucer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Monday\u2019s flight test was the second for the project. During the first flight on June 28, 2014, the main goal was to demonstrate and operate the vehicle through its entire mission. That flight also carried the two LDSD braking technologies, and the SIAD worked perfectly during the first test. However, the supersonic parachute did not inflate as designed. With the data from last year\u2019s test, the LDSD team developed a new formula for this year\u2019s chute, making it stronger and more curved into its top to help it survive the initial shock of supersonic wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe physics involved with LDSD is so cutting-edge we learn something profound every time we test,\u201d said Ian Clark, principal investigator for LDSD at JPL. \u201cGoing into this year\u2019s flight, I wanted to see that the parachute opened further than it did last year before it began to rupture. The limited data set we have at present indicates we may not only have gone well down the road to full inflation, but we may have achieved it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe also saw another successful inflation of our 20-ft SIAD and another successful deployment and inflation of our supersonic ballute (an inflatable drag device that extracts the parachute). Both of those devices have now had two great flights, and we have matured them to the point where they can be used, with confidence, on future missions,\u201d Clark added. \u201cWe\u2019re not just pushing the envelope. We flew a 7,000-pound test vehicle right through it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA expects to make high-resolution imagery and comprehensive data from the test available to the public in about two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate funds the LDSD mission, a cooperative effort led by JPL. The Technology Demonstration Mission Program at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages LDSD. NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility, on Wallops Island, Virginia, coordinates range and safety support with PMRF and provides the balloon systems for the LDSD test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on LDSD, visit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/ldsd<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate, visit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/spacetech<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>-end-<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Joshua Buck<br \/>\nHeadquarters, Washington<br \/>\n202-358-1130<br \/>\njbuck@nasa.gov<br \/>\nDC Agle<br \/>\nJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.<br \/>\n818-393-9011<br \/>\nagle@jpl.nasa.gov<br \/>\nKim Newton<br \/>\nMarshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.<br \/>\n256-653-5173<br \/>\nkimberly.d.newton@nasa.gov<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Engineers are poring over the data following the second experimental landing technology test of NASA\u2019s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project. The saucer-shaped LDSD craft splashed down at 11:49 a.m. HST (5:49 p.m. EDT) Monday in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. During this flight, the project team tested [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":58894,"template":"","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":"15-116","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"RELEASE","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[]},"categories":[2860,3208,2867,2788],"news-tags":[12350],"internal-terms":[9514,9508],"coauthors":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"NASA’s LDSD Project Completes Second Experimental Test Flight","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasas-ldsd-project-completes-second-experimental-test-flight\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasas-ldsd-project-completes-second-experimental-test-flight\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg"},"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":["Missions","Technology Demonstration","Jet Propulsion Laboratory","Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator","NASA Headquarters"],"dateCreated":"2015-06-09T21:52:00Z","datePublished":"2015-06-09T21:52:00Z","dateModified":"2023-07-26T18:46:20Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"NASA’s LDSD Project Completes Second Experimental Test Flight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasas-ldsd-project-completes-second-experimental-test-flight\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2015-06-09T21:52:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"Missions,Technology Demonstration,Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator,NASA Headquarters\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"NASA\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":5,"featured_image":{"id":58894,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19684.jpg","title":"150608-N-DT805-281","alt":"Two members of the U.S. Navy's Mobile Diving Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 Explosive Ordnance Detachment","caption":"150608-N-DT805-281 KAUAI, Hawaii (Jun. 8, 2015) Sailors assigned to Mobile Diving Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 Explosive Ordnance Detachment recover the test vehicle for NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) off the coast of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii.  NASA's LDSD project is designed to investigate and test breakthrough technologies for landing future robotic and human Mars missions, and safely returning large payloads to Earth. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist John M. Hageman\/Released)"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/55584"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-release"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/55584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":370633,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/55584\/revisions\/370633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55584"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=55584"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=55584"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=55584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}