NASA Successfully Tests LOFTID Inflatable Heat Shield

NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, launched Nov. 10, 2022, to demonstrate inflatable heat shield technology. After liftoff on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, LOFTID inflated and deployed in space. After being released by the rocket’s upper stage, the heat shield re-entered Earth's atmosphere and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. The team recovered the LOFTID aeroshell and early indications show the demonstration was successful. Learn more at https://www.nasa.gov/loftid