A new high-definition video from NASA shows off their first test of the flying saucer-shaped Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD). The agency has deemed the test as a full success, in spite of problems with a parachute.
Future missions to Mars will require larger spacecrafts, equipped with not just heavy equipment, but also with humans. Those spacecraft will need something with more drag to slow them down before landing because they'll be deployed from higher supersonic speeds. The LDSD is the technology NASA believes will help them achieve that.
The LDSD is a supersonic inflatable balloon-like device that uses atmospheric drag to slow down a spacecraft as it nears a planet. Shaped like a flying saucer, this new system increases the amount of weight a spacecraft headed to a planet like Mars can handle. Current systems only handle a little over a metric ton, but the LDSD can carry 2 to 3 metric tons.
At the end of July, NASA launched the first test of the LDSD system. High-definition cameras captured the event with incredible detail, showing the LDSD being towed 23 miles into space by a helium-filled balloon. Once the balloon released, the LDSD's motor kicked in and the craft flew even higher, four times faster than the speed of sound.
"As far as I am concerned, whenever you get to ride shotgun on a rocket-powered flying saucer, it is a good day," says Ian Clark, principal investigator for LDSD at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.. "We hope the video will show everyone how beautiful and awesome the test was, and to just to give folks an insight into what experimental flight test is all about."
In the video, you can watch how the saucer inflated quickly and without any problems. Unfortunately, though, you can also see that not all went well: one of the LDSD's supersonic parachutes later ripped apart.
Regardless, NASA sees the test as a success, as well as an educational experience, giving insight about future testing.
"A good test is one where there are no surprises but a great test is one where you are able to learn new things, and that is certainly what we have in this case," says Clark. "We are literally re-writing the books on high-speed parachute operations, and we are doing it a year ahead of schedule."
The LDSD is just one of the technologies NASA is preparing for future missions to Mars, including its 2020 rover mission.
