Due to bad weather conditions, flying saucer launch delayed fourth day in a row.
NASA’s new Low Density Supersonic Decelerator, or LDSD, was supposed to launch originally on June 2nd. Now, June 5th, the NASA team behind the project is still waiting for inclement weather to clear up. The test relies on a balloon to lift the spacecraft, which means that it needs calm winds. The high surface winds plaguing the mission today were cited as the reason for the postponement of the launch. Past delay reasons were poor ocean conditions and rain showers.
The flying saucer is part of NASA’s efforts to put man on Mars.
The LDSD is the vehicle that’s meant to take a crew of seven astronauts and their cargo to mars. It is revolutionary in a number of ways that will make it the only craft able to safely land humans on such a thin-atmosphere planet. First off, it has a shape designed to generate a lot of drag in order to slow it down. Second, the donut-shaped craft features two fascinating new gadgets that will allow it to slow down even better. The first is an inflatable sort of air brake known as the Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator, or SIAD. This first-step deceleration system is enough to reduce the LDSD’s speed to Mach 2.4. The second feature is a ringsail supersonic parachute, the first thoroughly redesigned space parachute since the 1970s Viking Program. This new ‘chute was needed for a spacecraft as heavy as the 7,000-lb flying saucer.
When the launch finally does happen, how will it go?
This launch is really something for us all to look forward to, as its live stream will be up for anyone to watch. For the test, the LDSD is first supposed to be attached to a huge balloon and allowed to climb to 120,000 feet. Then, it would detach from the balloon and rocket up to an altitude of 180,000 feet, which is close to the edge of the stratosphere. Once there, the next step is the deployment of the SIAD. Finally, the ringsail supersonic parachute will open, lowering speed as much as possible for a smooth splashdown. Hopefully, this launch will go better than the first time NASA launched an LDSD in 2014, from the same Kauai, Hawaii location. That test ended in the spacecraft returning to earth in very poor shape.
