NASA said the LOFTID test of an inflatable heat shield, seen here after recovery form the Pacific, was a success. Credit: NASA/Greg Swanson WASHINGTON — The success of a NASA project last year to ...

Future commercial astronaut missions to low-Earth orbit could be calling a modular, inflatable space station home. Yes, you read that right. Typically, when you think about things that are inflatable ...

NASA said it had successfully tested an inflatable heat shield designed to slow and protect spacecraft as they blast through the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. The 1,400lb, Inflatable Re-entry ...

That's now five space station prototypes blown up for science's sake. The Colorado company Sierra Space, which is creating an inflatable module for an International Space Station (ISS) successor, ...

This story was updated at 11:04 a.m. EDT. NASA launched a novel new heat shield prototype on a successful test flight Monday (July 23), a mission that sent a high-tech space balloon streaking through ...

A successful NASA flight test Monday demonstrated how a spacecraft returning to Earth can use an inflatable heat shield to slow and protect itself as it enters the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.

This week NASA launched a new weather satellite, JPSS-2, into polar orbit around the Earth. But this launch was a special one, as it also included a test of a new inflatable heat shield called LOFTID.

NASA has successfully flown an inflatable heat shield down through Earth’s atmosphere, in a technology demonstration that could one day help safely land spacecraft on the surface of Mars and beyond.

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More When the word “inflatable” comes to mind, I doubt I’m alone in ...

The path for humans to Mars could be paved by UB students. A team of five UB student engineers have developed plans for a massive inflatable heat shield designed to protect spacecraft – and ...

The LOFTID mission tested a novel approach to guiding spacecraft through the extreme heat of returning from orbit, which could be used to put people on Mars. By Kenneth Chang On Thursday morning, NASA ...