Inflated IRVE-3, Transonic Dynamics Tunnel
The inflated IRVE-3 could be seen from above in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Following the success of the initial IRVE experiments, NASA developed the concept into the more ambitious Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD). The current design is shaped like a shallow cone, with the structure built up as a stack of circular inflated tubes of gradually increasing major diameter. The forward (convex) face of the cone is covered with a flexible thermal protection system robust enough to withstand the stresses of atmospheric entry (or reentry). In 2012, a HIAD was successfully tested as Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment 3 (IRVE-3) using a 64-foot, 22-inch diameter Black Brant XI sounding rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The rocket with the inflatable on board shot 288 miles up and IRVE-3 and its payload were ejected into the atmosphere. The technology demonstrator inflated and fell back to Earth - cameras and temperature and pressure sensors monitoring its performance all the way down. After a total of 20 minutes - from launch to splash down - it landed in the Atlantic about 100 miles East of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
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Photo credit: © Science History Images / Alamy / Afripics
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