A large inflatable heat shield developed by NASA’s Space Technology Program has successfully survived a trip through Earth’s atmosphere while travelling at hypersonic speeds up to 7,600 mph. The ...

The first (and smallest) torus for the 10-meter aeroshell NASA is developing with ULA, sitting on top of the six-meter LOFTID aeroshell that completed its mission in November 2022. Credit: NASA Space ...

An inflatable spacecraft heat shield the technology could help NASA land astronauts and massive cargo loads on the Red Planet in the late 2030s. Credit: NASA/Greg Swanson To gently land a rocket ship ...

For example, an inflatable heat shield would not add as much to the initial launch mass, and they could be used to safely land components like ULA's Vulcan rocket engines for reuse. The LOFTID ...