Aug 17 2009
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(New page: NASA announced the successful demonstration of an inflatable heat shield slowing and protecting itself as it entered the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds—the first time that anyone had su...)
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NASA announced the successful demonstration of an inflatable heat shield slowing and protecting itself as it entered the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds—the first time that anyone had successfully flown an inflatable reentry capsule. NASA launched the Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) on a 50-foot (15.2-meter) Black Brant–9 sounding rocket, from NASA’s WFF on Wallops Island, Virginia, at 8:52 a.m. (EDT). Made of several layers of silicone-coated Kevlar, the heat shield inflated with nitrogen several minutes after launch, from a 15-inchdiameter (38-centimeter-diameter) payload to a 10-foot-diameter (3-meter-diameter) mushroomshaped aeroshell. The inflation process, which occurred on schedule at an altitude of 124 miles (200 kilometers), required fewer than 90 seconds. Six-and-a-half minutes into flight, at an altitude of 50 miles (80.5 kilometers), the aeroshell entered the key phase of the demonstration, experiencing its peak heating and pressure measurements for approximately 30 seconds. An onboard telemetry system collected data from its instruments, broadcasting that information to engineers in real time. The entire mission lasted approximately 20 minutes, ending with splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Wallops. NASA did not retrieve either the shield or the rocket. IRVE Project Manager Mary Beth Wusk, based at LaRC, remarked that, with the success of the small-scale demonstrator, NASA’s next step would be to build a more advanced aeroshell, capable of handling higher heat rates—a promising development for future planetary missions.
NASA, “NASA Launches New Technology: An Inflatable Heat Shield,” news release 09-188, 17 August 2009, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/aug/HQ_09-188_IRVE_launch.html (accessed 31 August 2011); Cory Nealon, “The Newest from NASA: Inflatable Brakes,” Newport News Daily Press (VA), 18 August 2009; Clara Moskowitz, “Inflatable Spacecraft Shield Works, Space Test Shows,” Space.com, 17 August 2009, http://www.space.com/7144-inflatable-spacecraft-shield-works-space-test-shows.html (accessed 12 September 2011).
NASA announced that scientists had discovered glycine—an amino acid that living organisms use to make proteins—in a sample of comet Wild 2 returned by NASA’s Stardust spacecraft. The identification of glycine in the sample marked the first time that astronomers had discovered an amino acid in a comet. Carl B. Pilcher, Director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, which had co-funded the research, remarked that the discovery of glycine in a comet supported the idea that the fundamental building blocks of life are prevalent in space, strengthening the argument that life in the universe is not rare, but common. The Stardust craft had passed through the dense gas and dust surrounding the icy nucleus of Wild 2 in January 2004, using a special collection grid filled with “aerogel,” a novel sponge-like material that gently captured samples of the comet’s gas and dust. Stowed in a capsule that had detached from the spacecraft, the collection grid had parachuted to Earth on 15 January 2006. Since that time, scientists worldwide had been analyzing the samples to learn about comet formation and the history of the solar system. Stardust Principal Investigator Donald E. Brownlee, of the University of Washington in Seattle, stated that the discovery of amino acids in a returned comet sample was a remarkable triumph, highlighting advances in laboratory studies of primitive extraterrestrial materials.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, “NASA Researchers Make First Discovery of Life’s Building Block in Comet,” GSFC news release, 17 August 2009, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/Stardust/news/Stardust_amino_acid.html (accessed 13 September 2011); John Johnson Jr., “Ingredient for Life Detected in Comet Dust,” Los Angeles Times, 18 August 2009.
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