LOFTID Mission - NASA's Inflatable Decelerator Technology for Mars | UPSC Notes

Delving Into the LOFTID Mission

Image source: NASA

The LOFTID Mission embarked on its journey as a secondary payload on the Atlas-V rocket, which launched the NOAA's latest environmental satellite, JPSS-2, into orbit. This mission showcased a unique aeroshell, an inflatable heat shield for atmospheric re-entry. The launch took place at the Space Launch Complex – 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Once JPSS-2 reached orbit, LOFTID was set on a re-entry trajectory from low earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable aeroshell's capability to withstand re-entry and slow down the spacecraft.

• The NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System – 2 (JPSS-2) will bolster predictions for extreme weather events, contribute to daily weather models, and monitor climate change.
• As a spacecraft enters a planet's atmosphere, the aerodynamic drag converts kinetic energy into heat, slowing down the spacecraft as it descends.
• However, Mars' atmosphere is too thin to decelerate the spacecraft as rapidly as Earth's atmosphere would.
• LOFTID's broad deployable aeroshell acts as a massive brake in the Martian atmosphere. This large aeroshell generates more drag than a traditional, smaller rigid one, thereby increasing its deceleration capabilities.

The Ingenious Design of LOFTID

The LOFTID aeroshell is a large circular inflatable structure, six meters in diameter, shielded by a flexible heat shield.

• The aeroshell of LOFTID is made up of a series of pressurized concentric rings that form a sturdy blunt cone-shaped structure.
• These rings are composed of braided synthetic fibres, which are 15 times stronger than steel and can endure temperatures exceeding 1,600-degree celsius.
• The inflatable structure maintains its shape against drag forces, while the flexible thermal protection system shields the structure from the intense heat during re-entry.

The early results from the LOFTID Mission have been promising. Approximately an hour after the launch on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, LOFTID inflated and deployed in space. The aeroshell began its descent through Earth's atmosphere after being released. LOFTID managed to slow down to less than 80 miles per hour by the end of its demonstration, landing near the recovery ship in the Pacific Ocean close to Hawaii.