Public release date: 19-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] <\/p>\n
Contact: Susan Hendrix Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov<\/a> 301-286-7745 NASA\/Goddard Space Flight Center<\/p>\n NASA will launch an inflatable aeroshell\/heat shield technology demonstrator on a Black Brant XI sounding rocket July 22 from the agency's launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. <\/p>\n The Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) is the third in a series of suborbital flight tests of this new technology. <\/p>\n Technicians will vacuum pack the uninflated 10-foot (3.05 meters) diameter cone of high-tech inner tubes into a 22-inch (56 centimeters) diameter sounding rocket. <\/p>\n During the flight test an on board system will inflate the tubes -- stretching a thermal blanket that covers them -to create an aeroshell or heat shield. That heat shield will protect a payload that consists of four segments including the inflation system, steering mechanisms, telemetry equipment and camera gear. <\/p>\n ### <\/p>\n<\/p>\n AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Here is the original post:<\/p>\n IRVE-3 flight hardware test sounding rocket<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Public release date: 19-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Susan Hendrix Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov<\/a> 301-286-7745 NASA\/Goddard Space Flight Center NASA will launch an inflatable aeroshell\/heat shield technology demonstrator on a Black Brant XI sounding rocket July 22 from the agency's launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Continue reading