Winds delay test of Mars reentry technology
Posted: Fri, Jun 13, 2014, 8:07 AM ET (1207 GMT)
A persistent, unseasonal pattern of high winds has delayed a planned test of a Mars reentry technology demonstrator until at least late this month, project officials said Thursday. NASA had hoped to fly the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) experiment from the US Navy's Pacific Missile Range in Kauai, Hawaii, on one of several dates in the first half of June. In the test, a balloon carries the LDSD to an altitude of more than 36 kilometers, at which point a rocket motor fires to carry the payload to 55 kilometers altitude and Mach 4. However, mid-level wind patters above the test site have not cooperated, and officials said the winds there are different than in past years, when they selected this date for the test. NASA hopes to try to fly the LDSD in late June, depending on weather conditions and the availability of the launch range. LDSD is designed to test an inflatable structure designed to increase drag, and a supersonic parachute, at velocities and atmosphere pressures similar to those of a spacecraft entering the Martian atmosphere.
A persistent, unseasonal pattern of high winds has delayed a planned test of a Mars reentry technology demonstrator until at least late this month, project officials said Thursday. NASA had hoped to fly the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) experiment from the US Navy's Pacific Missile Range in Kauai, Hawaii, on one of several dates in the first half of June. In the test, a balloon carries the LDSD to an altitude of more than 36 kilometers, at which point a rocket motor fires to carry the payload to 55 kilometers altitude and Mach 4. However, mid-level wind patters above the test site have not cooperated, and officials said the winds there are different than in past years, when they selected this date for the test. NASA hopes to try to fly the LDSD in late June, depending on weather conditions and the availability of the launch range. LDSD is designed to test an inflatable structure designed to increase drag, and a supersonic parachute, at velocities and atmosphere pressures similar to those of a spacecraft entering the Martian atmosphere.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, February 1
To Protect Satellites, Secure Your Networks, Chief of Space Ops Says
Defense One — 7:34 am ET (1234 GMT) SpaceX's Starlink is active in Africa for the first time
Business Insider — 7:32 am ET (1232 GMT) Space Coast bustling with 4 crew launches on tap from SpaceX, Boeing
Orlando Sentinel — 7:31 am ET (1231 GMT) After Delays, SpaceX Rocket Blasts Off from Vandenberg SFB
Noozhawk — 7:31 am ET (1231 GMT) Bronco Space launches PROVES satellite into orbit
Cal Poly Ponoma Poly Post — 7:28 am ET (1228 GMT) |
