The Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) space vehicle will need to wait until 14 June to undergo its next test.
The vehicle assembly, which looks much like a classic flying saucer, is designed to slow landers on their way to the surface of alien planet. The device works by inflating a doughnut-shaped ring, slowing the vehicle down enough for parachutes to become effective.
The test will take place above the Pacific Ocean, when a giant balloon will lift the LDSD to the lower stratosphere before releasing the vehicle. At that point, rockets will ignite, accelerating the vehicle to speeds simulating entry into the Martian atmosphere.
NASA was forced to scrub the test, due to poor weather at the launch site.
"Due to weather conditions, there will be no launch of the LDSD test vehicle today, Wednesday, June 11. The next potential launch date is Saturday, June 14," NASA officials wrote on the website for the test.
This is the fifth time in a row that the test has been delayed by poor weather.
The LDSD is designed to ferry large payloads down to the surface of Mars and other worlds with a significant atmosphere. Such a delivery system will be needed to construct a Martian colony.
Previous attempts of the test were scheduled for 3, 5, 7 and 9 June before this latest delay.
NASA is currently testing three different systems to land massive payloads on the Red Planet and beyond. One of the other designs is also based on rapid inflation to create significant drag with a minimum of extra weight.
"The agency is moving forward and getting ready for Mars as part of NASA's Evolvable Mars campaign. We fly, we learn, we fly again. We have two more vehicles in the works for next year," Michael Gazarik, associate administrator for Space Technology at NASA's Washington headquarters, said.
The helium-filled balloon that will lift the LDSD miles in the sky is so large; it could barely fit inside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The test vehicle will free fall for about a second and a half before engines ignite to bring the vehicle up to test velocity. Top speed of the LDSD will be around four times the speed of sound. After that, it is a matter of slowing the craft down before it meets the surface of the Earth.
Before NASA tests how to tame the atmosphere of alien worlds, however, nature here on our home planet is going to have to cooperate.
