Ride Shotgun With NASA Saucer As It Flies to

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Ride Shotgun With NASA Saucer As It Flies to Near Space

NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project successfully flew a rocket-powered, saucer-shaped test vehicle into near-space in late June from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii. The goal of this experimental flight test, the first of three planned for the project, was to determine if the balloon-launched, rocket-powered, saucer-shaped, design could reach the altitudes and airspeeds needed to test two new breakthrough technologies destined for future Mars missions.

Carried as payload during the shakeout flight were two cutting-edge technologies scheduled to be tested next year aboard this same type of test vehicle. The Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD) is a large, doughnut-shaped air brake that deployed during the flight, helping slow the vehicle from 3.8 to 2 times the speed of sound. The second, the Supersonic Disksail Parachute, is the largest supersonic parachute ever flown. It has more than double the area of the parachute which was used for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission that carried the Curiosity rover to the surface of Mars.

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[Waspie_Dwarf]

High-Def Video of NASA's 'Flying Saucer' Test

LDSD principal investigator Ian Clark takes us through a play-by-play of NASA's 'Flying Saucer' Test in Hawaii.

Credit: NASA/JPL

Source: NASA/JPL - Videos

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA Press Briefing Includes Early Test Results for New Planetary Landing Technology

During an August 8 news briefing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, NASA released new video from last month’s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator test in Hawaii and discussed early results of the test. The successful cross-cutting demonstration of the LDSD project’s saucer-shaped test vehicle was designed to evaluate technologies for safely landing larger and heavier payloads on the surface of Mars and other planets with atmospheres.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

[Duchess Gummybuns]

I'm not gonna lie: I want one of those and I want it pronto.

[loki720]

Well I imagine the AA and UFO people are going to be all over this one. Becuase , you know, its all a gubmint coverup.

Please people.... your setting the human race back hundreds of years because you prefer to live in a fantasy world. Seriously if your lifes that bad that you xant face reality then get some meds.

[pallidin]

Very cool vid.

[Perceptivum]

That was great to see!! I wonder how many UFO reports will come out of this test.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

I wonder how many UFO reports will come out of this test.

The fact that it was launched from under a balloon at an altitude of 120,000 ft more than 100 miles off the coast over the Pacific Ocean makes it highly unlikely that it was seen at all.

Edited August 11, 2014 by Waspie_Dwarf

[Silent Trinity]

What a fantastic piece of engineering! Although we all know that this is only going to serve to increase the amount of false UFO reports.....

[Waspie_Dwarf]

What a fantastic piece of engineering! Although we all know that this is only going to serve to increase the amount of false UFO reports.....

No we don't know that. See my post above.