IRVE-3 launch. Credit: NASA/Sean Smith |
A
large inflatable heat shield developed by NASA’s Space Technology
Program has successfully survived a trip through Earth’s atmosphere
while travelling at hypersonic speeds up to 7,600 mph.
The
Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) was launched by sounding
rocket at 7:01 a.m. Monday from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on
Wallops Island, Va. The purpose of the IRVE-3 test was to show that a
space capsule can use an inflatable outer shell to slow and protect
itself as it enters an atmosphere at hypersonic speed during planetary
entry and descent, or as it returns to Earth with cargo from the
International Space Station.
“It’s
great to see the initial results indicate we had a successful test of
the hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator,” said James Reuther,
deputy director of NASA’s Space Technology Program. “This demonstration
flight goes a long way toward showing the value of these technologies to
serve as atmospheric entry heat shields for future space.”
IRVE-3,
a cone of uninflated high-tech rings covered by a thermal blanket of
layers of heat resistant materials, launched from a three-stage Black
Brant rocket for its suborbital flight. About 6 minutes into the flight,
as planned, the 680-pound inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, and its
payload separated from the launch vehicle’s 22-inch-diameter nose cone
about 280 miles over the Atlantic Ocean.
An
inflation system pumped nitrogen into the IRVE-3 aeroshell until it
expanded to a mushroom shape almost 10 feet in diameter. Then the
aeroshell plummeted at hypersonic speeds through Earth’s atmosphere.
Engineers in the Wallops control room watched as four onboard cameras
confirmed the inflatable shield held its shape despite the force and
high heat of reentry. Onboard instruments provided temperature and
pressure data. Researchers will study that information to help develop
future inflatable heat shield designs.
After
its flight, IRVE-3 fell into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North
Carolina. From launch to splashdown, the flight lasted about 20 minutes.
A high-speed U.S. Navy Stiletto boat is in the area with a crew that
will attempt to retrieve IRVE-3. The Stiletto is a maritime
demonstration craft operated by the Naval Surface Warfare Center
Carderock, Combatant Craft Division, and is based at Joint Expeditionary
Base Little Creek-Ft Story, Va.
Artist’s concept of hypersonic inflatable aeroshell and technologies suitable for returning mass from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA |
“A
team of NASA engineers and technicians spent the last three years
preparing for the IRVE-3 flight,” said Lesa Roe, director of NASA’s
Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. “We are pushing the boundaries
with this flight. We look forward to future test launches of even bigger
inflatable aeroshells.”
This
test was a follow-on to the successful IRVE-2, which showed an
inflatable heat shield could survive intact after coming through Earth’s
atmosphere. IRVE-3 was the same size as IRVE-2, but had a heavier
payload and was subjected to a much higher re-entry heat, more like what
a heat shield might encounter in space.
IRVE-3
is part of the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD)
Project within the Game Changing Development Program, part of NASA’s
Space Technology Program. Langley developed and manages the IRVE-3 and
HIAD programs.
Source: NASA
