How Do Spacecraft Slow Down? We Asked a NASA Technologist

How Do Spacecraft Slow Down? We Asked a NASA Technologist

How do spacecraft slow down? Rigid heat shields and retropropulsion have been the favorites of engineers for years. Now NASA is testing a new inflatable heat shield technology that could allow us to carry even larger payloads to worlds with atmospheres called Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID): https://www.nasa.gov/loftid

Launching on Nov. 1 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket along with NOAA’s JPSS-2 mission, the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, will demonstrate the heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive atmospheric entry: https://go.nasa.gov/3N7yzBG

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Producers: Scott Bednar, Jessica Wilde

Editor: Daniel Salazar

Duration: 1 minute, 47 seconds

Release Date: October 26, 2022

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