NASA's Successful Heat Shield Demo Reveals Mystery of Largest Reentry Blunt Body

NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) successfully demonstrated an inflatable heat shield, known as a Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) aeroshell. This technology could enable larger spacecraft to safely descend through the atmospheres of celestial bodies like Mars, Venus, and Saturn's moon, Titan. The LOFTID mission was deemed "flawless" by NASA, and the agency plans to partner with United Launch Alliance (ULA) to develop a larger HIAD aeroshell for future missions.