News Archive / Tagged: Supersonic Disk Sail Parachute

• NASA reveals early results of LDSD “flying saucer” test flight

  Rae Botsford EndAugust 8th, 2014

  NASA’s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) “flying saucer” test vehicle successfully reached near-space in late June, allowing them to test certain Martian landing conditions, and NASA held a video-rich briefing about it today, August 8.

• NASA’s LDSD successfully completes first test flight despite parachute failure

  James TuttenJune 28th, 2014

  The first major flight test for NASA’s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) occurred today, Saturday, June 28 from the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. Though there were technical issues with a malfunctioning parachute, the test’s primary components were successfully deployed. 

• NASA’s LDSD is grounded due to unfavorable weather conditions

  SpaceFlight InsiderJune 13th, 2014

  Due to weather constraints, NASA’s new flying saucer-shaped, Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) proposed launch has been canceled. In a media teleconference yesterday, June 12, Mark Alder (LDSD Project Manager) and Ian Clark (LDSD Principal Investigator) explained the need for a delay and outlined the project’s next steps.

• NASA’s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) is ready for testing

  SpaceFlight InsiderJune 5th, 2014

  NASA has developed a new, innovative vehicle capable of landing larger payloads in environments such as the thin Martian atmosphere. The Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) is a saucer-shaped, rocket-powered vehicle is now complete and ready for testing at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii.