NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID)

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 NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, is demonstrating a cross-cutting aeroshell -- a type of heat shield -- for atmospheric re-entry. For destinations with an atmosphere, one of the challenges NASA faces is how to deliver heavy payloads (experiments, equipment, and people) because current rigid aeroshells are constrained by a rocket’s shroud size. One answer is an inflatable aeroshell that can be deployed to a scale much larger than the shroud. This technology enables a variety of proposed NASA missions to destinations such as Mars, Venus, Titan as well as return to Earth.

When a spacecraft enters an atmosphere, aerodynamic forces act upon it. Specifically, aerodynamic drag helps to slow it down, converting its kinetic energy into heat. Utilizing atmospheric drag is the most mass-efficient method to slow down a spacecraft.

The atmosphere of Mars is much less dense than that of Earth and provides an extreme challenge for aerodynamic deceleration. The atmosphere is thick enough to provide some drag, but too thin to decelerate the spacecraft as quickly as it would in Earth's atmosphere. LOFTID’s large deployable aeroshell -- an inflatable structure protected by a flexible heat shield -- acts as a giant brake as it traverses the Martian atmosphere. The large aeroshell creates more drag than a traditional, smaller rigid aeroshell. It begins slowing down in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, allowing the spacecraft to decelerate sooner, at higher altitude, while experiencing less intense heating.

LOFTID is demonstrating a large aeroshell -- 6 meters in diameter or about 20 feet -- entry from low-Earth orbit, to demonstrate this technology in conditions relevant to many potential applications. The benefits of using the inflatable decelerator design for a variety of space applications include:

  • Low-Earth orbit return; free flyer, in-space manufactured materials [3 to 6-meter scale]
  • International Space Station down mass greater than currently possible [8 to 12-meter scale]
  • Lower cost access to space through launch vehicle asset recovery [12-meter scale]

The inflatable decelerator technology is scalable to both crewed and large robotic missions to Mars.

NASA and United Launch Alliance dedicated the LOFTID mission in honor of Bernard Kutter, manager of advanced programs at ULA, who passed away in August 2020. He was not only an advocate for more lower cost access to space, but also the technologies that could make it a reality. The ULA engineer took a keen interest in NASA’s inflatable heat shield technology, which could enable the safe return of Vulcan rocket engines as part of ULA’s re-use program, as well as land large payloads on Mars required for crewed missions. He was instrumental in advancing the ULA re-use technology and developing the plan to test the system on an Atlas V rocket.

The LOFTID project is a part of the Technology Demonstration Missions program within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. The project is managed by NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with contributions from Ames, Marshall, and Armstrong. Multiple U.S. small business contributed to the hardware. The demonstration is a partnership with United Launch Alliance. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) is responsible for NASA oversight of launch operations.

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/loftid/index.html
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/loftid_fact_sheet_layout_090922_508.pdf

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