WATCH: Flying more than twice the speed of sound in the thin air 34 miles above Hawaii, a flying saucer-shaped test vehicle successfully inflated a doughnut-like airbrake, but a huge supersonic parachute ripped apart seconds after release in the $230 million program’s second straight failure.
TORONTO – Want to watch a giant flying saucer?
While the flying saucer won’t be out of this world in the literal sense, it’s pretty impressive: the eventual destination of this roughly five-metre disk is Mars.
READ MORE: Why are we trying to get to Mars?
NASA’s Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) will serve to bring larger payloads — and possibly humans — to Mars. But before it does that, it has to be tested here on Earth. NASA will be streaming the test live.
The test was originally expected to take place on June 2, but due to weather it has been delayed several times. The next opportunity is for June 6.
The future exploration of Mars will involve heavier payloads — think larger rovers, or equipment to build a base there. In order to get it safely to the surface, the payload will have to slow down once it enters the Martian atmosphere. The problem is, Mars doesn’t have much of an atmosphere to slow things down. That’s why you might remember the “Seven Minutes of Terror” of the Curiosity spacecraft. Controllers back on Earth had to wait seven minutes (due to the time delay) to receive a signal from Curiosity as to whether or not it arrived safely on the surface. Its landing was something spectacular that involved parachutes, rockets and even a crane.
So how does this flying saucer-like thing work?
Current parachute technology is limited in that it can only handle about 1.5 metric tons. The new system will increase it to between two to three metric tons.
The next generation system will employ two devices: the LDSD and the Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators (SIAD), a large balloon-like pressure system that inflate around the entire vehicle and slow it from Mach 3.5 to Mach 2 or even lower.
READ MORE: From the moon to Mars: Why is it taking us so long?
These two systems will also increase landing altitudes to about two to three kilometres, essentially allowing for more surface area to explore. As well, it’s accuracy — because, let’s be fair, landing a rover on a planet that’s 300 million km away, there’s going to be some margin for error — will improve from 10 kilometres to three.
During this test, a balloon will take the vehicle 37 km into Earth’s stratosphere over Hawaii where the atmosphere is thinner — more like Mars. Once released from the balloon, rockets will take it to 55 km and reach supersonic speeds. Once released, it will travel at three times the speed of sound, the decelerator will inflate and then the parachute will deploy at 2.35 times the speed of sound, eventually carrying it to the ocean.
It will take about two hours for the balloon to reach an altitude of 37,000 km. The test will last about 42 minutes.
The launch is scheduled for June 6. NASA will be providing commentary for the first 30 minutes after the balloon is launched. About 20 minutes before the LDSD test vehicle drops, commentary will return.
Viewers will be able to watch it here at GlobalNews.ca.
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