[meteorite-list] NASA Hypersonic Inflatable Tech Test Set For Virginia Launch July 21

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:36:58 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201207172036.q6HKaxi5017145_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

July 17, 2012

David E. Steitz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1730
david.steitz at nasa.gov

Kathy Barnstorff
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
757-864-9886/757-244-8511
kathy.barnstorff at nasa.gov

Keith Koehler
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
757-824-1579
keith.a.koehler at nasa.gov


RELEASE: 12-236

NASA HYPERSONIC INFLATABLE TECH TEST SET FOR VIRGINIA LAUNCH JULY 21

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- NASA Space Technology Program researchers will
launch and deploy a large inflatable heat shield aboard a rocket
travelling at hypersonic speeds this weekend during a technology
demonstration test from the agency's Wallops Flight Facility on
Wallops Island, Va.

NASA has four consecutive days of launch opportunities for the
agency's Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3), starting
July 21, with the liftoff window from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. EDT each day.

The test is designed to demonstrate lightweight, yet strong,
inflatable structures that could become practical tools for
exploration of other worlds or as a way to return items safely to
Earth from the International Space Station. During this technology
demonstration test flight, NASA's IRVE-3 payload will try to re-enter
Earth's atmosphere at hypersonic speeds -- Mach 5, or 3,800 mph to
7,600 mph.

"As we investigate new ways to bring cargo back to Earth from the
International Space Station and innovative ways to land larger
payloads safely on Mars, it's clear we need to invest in new
technologies that will enable these goals," said Michael Gazarik,
director of NASA's Space Technology Program. "IRVE-3 is precisely the
sort of cross-cutting technology NASA's Space Technology Program
should mature to make these future NASA and commercial space
endeavors possible."

The IRVE-3 experiment will fly aboard a three-stage Black Brant XI
launch vehicle for its suborbital flight. The payload and the heat
shield, which looks like a large, uninflated cone of inner tubes,
will be packed inside the rocket's 22-inch-diameter nose cone. About
six minutes after launch, the rocket will climb to an altitude of
about 280 miles over the Atlantic Ocean.

At that point, the 680-pound IRVE-3 will separate from the rocket. An
inflation system similar to air tanks used by scuba divers will pump
nitrogen gas into the IRVE-3 aeroshell until it becomes almost 10
feet in diameter. Instruments on board, including pressure sensors
and heat flux gauges, as well as cameras, will provide data to
engineers on the ground of how well the inflated heat shield performs
during the force and heat of entry into Earth's atmosphere.

After its flight, IRVE-3 will fall into the Atlantic Ocean about 350
miles down range from Wallops. From launch to splash down, the flight
is expected to take approximately 20 minutes.

"We originally came up with this concept because we'd like to be able
to land more mass and access higher altitudes on Mars," said Neil
Cheatwood, IRVE-3 principal investigator at NASA's Langley Research
Center in Hampton, Va. "To do so you need more drag. We're seeking to
maximize the drag area of the entry system. We want to make it as big
as we can. The limitation with current technology has been the launch
vehicle diameter."

Cheatwood and a team of NASA engineers and technicians have spent the
last three years addressing the technical challenges of materials
withstanding the heat created by atmospheric entry and preparing for
the IRVE-3 flight. The team has studied designs, assessed materials
in laboratories and wind tunnels, and subjected hardware to thermal
and pressure loads beyond what the inflatable spacecraft technology
should face during flight.

This test is a follow on to the successful IRVE-2, which showed an
inflatable heat shield could survive intact after coming through
Earth's atmosphere. IRVE-3 is the same size as IRVE-2, but has a
heavier payload and will be subjected to a much higher reentry heat.

IRVE-3 is part of the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator
(HIAD) Project within the Game Changing Development Program, part of
NASA's Space Technology Program. Langley developed and manages the
IRVE-3 and HIAD projects.

Journalists interested in attending the IRVE-3 launch at NASA's
Wallops Flight Facility should contact Wallops Public Affairs Officer
Keith Koehler at 757-824-1579 or keith.a.koehler at nasa.gov to arrange
for media accreditation.

NASA TV will air the IRVE-3 launch live and stream it on the Web at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about IRVE-3 and the HIAD Project, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/hiad

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov
        
-end-
Received on Tue 17 Jul 2012 04:36:58 PM PDT


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