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IRVE-3 Inflatable Heat Shield on Earth
Credit: NASA Langley/Kathy Barnstorff
The IRVE-3 went through a complete inflation system test under vacuum conditions in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. The Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment III launches on July 21, 2012.
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Inflatable Heat Shield's Fiery Test
Credit: NASA
A NASA inflatable heat shield prototype is subjected to the searing hot temperatures of a simulated re-entry in this image. A similar inflatable heat shield will be put to the ultimate test during the July 21, 2012 launch of NASA's Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment 3 mission. Posted July 17.
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Inflatable Heat Shield for Mars Landing
Credit: NASA
An artist's concept of an inflatable heat shield slowing a spacecraft for a Mars landing.
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IRVE-3 Heat Shield Inflation Check
Credit: NASA/Sean Smith
Engineers checked out the Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment after the successful completion of an inflation system test. The IRVE-3 is scheduled to launch on a sounding rocket on July 21, 2012.
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NASA's Inflatable Re-Entry Vehicle Experiment 3
Credit: NASA/AMA
These NASA images depict the Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) packed into a nose cone, unfurls in space, then plummets at hypersonic speeds through Earth’s atmosphere to demonstrate the feasibility of inflatable spacecraft technology. Imaged posted July 17, 2012.
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IRVE-3 Inflatable Heat Shield Deploys
Credit: NASA/AMA
An artist's concept of the Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment 3 test vehicle deploying in space.
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Inflatable Heat Shield Inflated on Earth
Credit: NASA
A look at a NASA Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) inflated in a ground test. The HIAD will be used in NASA's Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment 3 test flight on July 21, 2012.
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Inflatable Heat Shield HEART
Credit: NASA
The High Energy Atmospheric Re-entry Test (HEART) is a design concept for a flight test that would demonstrate a larger inflatable aeroshell,HIAD with a diameter of almost 30 feet (8 meters). Such a craft could one day be used to return substantial payloads to Earth from orbit.
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IRVE-3 Heat Shield Launch Animation
Credit: NASA
An artist's illustration of the suborbital Black Brant 11 suborbital rocket launching the IRVE-3 inflatable heat shield prototype into space on July 21, 2012.
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Inflatable Heat Shield Above Earth
Credit: NASA
An artist's concept for an inflatable heat shield deployed in space.
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Inflatable Heat Shield's Drag to Earth
Credit: NASA
An artist's illustration of an inflatable heat shield re-entering Earth's atmosphere and its drag effects.
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Preparing the IRVE-3 Heat Shield
Credit: NASA
An almost 20-foot (6-meter) diameter inflatable heat shield concept is being prepared for a wind tunnel test at the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex in Moffett Field, Calif. The IRVE-3 inflatable heat shield test launches July 21, 2012.
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IRVE-3 Inflatable Heat Shield Packed for Launch
Credit: NASA Langley/Kathy Barnstorff
The 10-foot- diameter Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) is packed, uninflated, into a flight bag that fits inside a 22-inch diameter nose cone. The experiment will launch on a suborbital rocket July 21, 2012.
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IRVE-3 Inflatable Heat Shield Test
Credit: NASA
Materials that layered together can withstand up to 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit (1,260 degree Celsius) make up the Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) thermal blanket. The experiment will launch on July 21, 2012. Image posted July 17.
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Heat Shield Coating for IRVE-3
Credit: NASA
Layered samples of heat-resistant materials, called "coupons," are tested in extreme heat to make sure they can withstand an atmospheric entry before they can be used on a hypersonic inflatable atmospheric decelerator like the Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment 3. Image added July 17, 2012.
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NASA IRVE-3 Inflatable Heat Shield Testing
Credit: NASA/Sean Smith
IRVE-3 team members crowd the control of the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center during the complete inflation system test of IRVE-3 flight hardware for an inflatable heat shield test flight. Image posted July 17, 2012.
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Inflatable Spacecraft Shield Works, Space Test Shows
Credit: NASA/Sean Smith
NASA engineers check out the Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) in the lab.
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Inflatable Heat Shield Passes Launch Test
NASA successfully launched an inflatable ballute concept for future spacecraft heat shields in an Aug. 17, 2009 using two-stage sounding rocket.
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Crowd at IRVE-3 Launch
Credit: NASA Langley Research Center (via Twitter as @NASA_Langley)
NASA's Langley Research Center tweeted this photo on July 23, 2012, and wrote: "Crowd has gathered for @NASA_HIAD IRVE-3 launch @NASA_Wallops pic.twitter.com/qkmjBjGI"
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NASA HIAD IRVE-3 Launch Team
Credit: NASA (via Twitter as @NASA_HIAD)
NASA tweeted this photo on July 23, 2012, and wrote: "IRVE-3 launch team reporting into the Range Control Center at 1:15 AM to begin launch count. http://pic.twitter.com/q4prPVfp"
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Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment Launch
Credit: NASA
The Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) was launched by sounding rocket at 7:01 a.m. Monday, July 23, 2012, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.
