[meteorite-list] NASA Invites Media to Preview Day, Launch of Supersonic Vehicle Test

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 11 May 2015 13:48:23 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201505112048.t4BKmN57025007_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

May 08, 2015

MEDIA ADVISORY M15-074

NASA Invites Media to Preview Day, Launch of Supersonic Vehicle Test

Reporters are invited to a media day Monday, June 1, at the U.S. Navy's
Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai, Hawaii, to learn about NASA's
second flight test of its Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD).

NASA's LDSD project is designed to investigate and test breakthrough
technologies for landing future robotic and human Mars missions, and safely
returning large payloads to Earth. The test, performed over the Pacific
Ocean, will simulate the supersonic entry and descent speeds at which the
spacecraft would be traveling through the Martian atmosphere.


The media day will begin with a mission overview briefing at 8 a.m. HST.
Briefing participants will include:

 * U.S. Navy Capt. Bruce Hay, commanding officer, PMRF
 * Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of the Space Technology Mission
   Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington
 * Mark Adler, LDSD project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
   in Pasadena, California
 * Ian Clark, LDSD principal investigator at JPL

The briefing will be broadcast live at:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

and

http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2

To participate by phone, media must contact Kim Newton at 256-544-0371,
256-653-5173 or kimberly.d.newton at nasa.gov. Briefing participants also will
answer questions submitted to the Ustream chat box or via Twitter using the
#askNASA hashtag. After the briefing, media at PMRF will be taken on a tour
of the launch area and Range Operations Center, as well as a driving tour of
the facility.

The test launch window is from June 2-12, and extends each day from
approximately 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Media are invited to watch the launch live at PMRF and, once the vehicle is
no longer in unaided view, continue watching the test on monitors in the LDSD
media center. Reporters must arrive no later than 5:45 a.m. each
launch-attempt day for escort onto the base.

At launch time, a giant balloon will carry the test vehicle to an altitude of
120,000 feet (37,000 meters). After released from the balloon, a booster
rocket will lift the disk-shaped vehicle to 180,000 feet (55,000 meters),
during which it will accelerate to supersonic speeds.

Traveling at about three times the speed of sound, the vehicle's
inner-tube-shaped decelerator, called a supersonic inflatable aerodynamic
decelerator, will inflate and slow the vehicle. Then, at Mach 2.35, its
parachute will inflate and gently carry the vehicle to the ocean's surface.

NASA's LDSD test vehicle carries several onboard cameras. Selected portions
of the test, including the rocket-powered ascent, will be broadcast live on
Ustream and NASA TV.

The decision to attempt launch of the LDSD test will be made the day before
each launch opportunity. NASA will issue updates on Twitter at _at_NASA and
_at_NASA_Technology. Updates and other information on the mission can also be
found at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ldsd

Media who would like to attend media day or launch day activities at PMRF
must register in advance by contacting Elena Mejia at 818-354-5011 or
elena.mejia at jpl.nasa.gov

Foreign media must register by Thursday, May 14. U.S. media must register by
Thursday, May 21. Media who are unsure whether they will attend are
encouraged to register by the deadlines, even if they later cancel. NASA will
provide detailed instructions to registrants.

The first LDSD flight test in June 2014 verified the sound design of the
vehicle design and test approach, and provided the project team an early look
at how two deceleration technologies would function when traveling at
supersonic speeds. During this first test, the SIAD operated successfully but
the parachute did not inflate. One of the main goals this time around is to
test the redesigned parachute.

NASA's LDSD program is part of the agency's Space Technology Mission
Directorate, which innovates, develops, tests and flies hardware for NASA's
future missions. For more information about NASA's investment in space
technology, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

-end-
Received on Mon 11 May 2015 04:48:23 PM PDT