WEBVTT

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[dramatic percussion music]

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- HEY, AND WELCOME
TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."

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I'M YOUR HOST, CALEB KINCHLOW.

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BIGGER, BETTER, AND SLOWER:

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THIS IS WHAT NASA'S AIMING FOR
WITH ITS NEW

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HYPERSONIC INFLATABLE
AERODYNAMIC DECELERATOR PROJECT,

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KNOWN AS HIAD.

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BASICALLY, A HIAD
IS AN INFLATABLE HEAT SHIELD

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WHICH COULD ALLOW SPACECRAFT
TO SAFELY ENTER INTO

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AND DESCEND THROUGH
AN ATMOSPHERE.

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IT'S BIGGER
BECAUSE IT'S INFLATABLE,

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SO IT CAN GET PACKED
INTO A SMALLER SPACE

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AND ULTIMATELY INFLATE
TO A MUCH LARGER SIZE,

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AND THAT MEANS A HIAD CAN CARRY
A MUCH LARGER PAYLOAD.

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AND IT'S SLOWER BECAUSE
THE LARGER THE HEAT SHIELD,

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THE MORE FRICTION IT CREATES
TO SLOW THE VEHICLE DOWN

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AT A FASTER RATE,
EVEN IN A THINNER ATMOSPHERE.

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BUT BETTER?

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IT'S BETTER
BECAUSE THIS TECHNOLOGY

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COULD TAKE US TO PLACES
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

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THAT WE'VE ONLY
EVER DREAMED OF.

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HIAD MAY ACTUALLY CHANGE THE WAY
THAT WE EXPLORE OTHER WORLDS.

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WOULDN'T IT BE COOL

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TO GET AN UP-CLOSE
AND PERSONAL LOOK

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AT THE METHANE LAKES
ON TITAN'S SURFACE?

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HOW AWESOME WOULD IT BE TO STUDY
BRAND-NEW PARTS OF MARS,

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PARTS WHERE WATER
MAY HAVE ACTUALLY FLOWED,

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OR ONE DAY
SEND HUMANS TO THE RED PLANET?

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SO WHAT WILL IT TAKE
TO GET US THERE?

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WELL, NASA ENGINEERS
ARE DEVELOPING

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THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS

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TO PROTECT THE INFLATABLE
AND ITS PAYLOAD

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FROM THE INTENSE HEAT
CREATED BY ENTRY.

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AND THOSE ENGINEERS HAVE BEEN
WORKING ON INFLATABLE STRUCTURES

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THAT USE
THEIR UNIQUE SHAPE AND SIZE

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TO CREATE A LARGER SURFACE AREA,

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ALLOWING THE HEAT TO DISTRIBUTE
OVER THE ENTIRE SURFACE,

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LOWERING THE TEMPERATURE
WHILE SLOWING IT DOWN.

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SOUNDS LIKE THEY'VE
GOT IT ALL UNDER CONTROL.

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WELL, NOT QUITE.

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THE HIAD VEHICLE ISN'T READY
TO FLY A MISSION TO MARS

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OR ANYWHERE ELSE
JUST YET.

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IT'S STILL IN THE RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT PHASE.

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RESEARCHERS AND ENGINEERS
HAVE BEEN BUSY

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PERFORMING TESTS AND ANALYSIS
ON MULTIPLE FRONTS FOR HIAD.

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ONCE ALL THE INDIVIDUAL
COMPONENTS AND SUBSYSTEMS

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PASS THEIR TESTS,

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THE TECHNOLOGY IS READY
FOR THE NEXT STEP:

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SUB-ORBITAL FLIGHT TESTS.

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SO WHAT GOOD
IS ALL THIS TESTING?

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WHAT'S THE END GOAL?

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- SO ONE OF THE END GOALS
OF A HIAD

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WOULD BE TO BE USED
ON A FUTURE RECOVERY

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OR SCIENCE
OR EXPLORATION MISSION

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THAT MAY BE ROBOTIC,
THAT MAY BE CREWED.

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THAT'S A POSSIBILITY
FOR THE FUTURE.

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BUT BEFORE WE CAN GET THERE,
WE HAVE TO DO A LOT OF TESTING

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BEFORE THIS TECHNOLOGY
IS READY TO BE USED

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ON ANY ONE OF THOSE MISSIONS.

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GROUND TESTING
AND FLIGHT TESTING

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ARE IMPORTANT
FOR US AS ENGINEERS

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TO UNDERSTAND THE INS AND OUTS
OF EVERYTHING ABOUT THE SYSTEM,

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ALL THE MATERIALS,
ALL THE COMPONENTS.

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WELL, RIGHT NOW, SOME
OF THE SOUNDING ROCKET TESTS

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ARE AT THE THREE-METER DIAMETER,

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AND WE HAVE
SOME WIND TUNNEL TESTS

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THAT ARE AT SIX-METER
AND EIGHT-METER DIAMETER

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FOR THE HIADs.

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SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING
AT DESIGN SOLUTIONS,

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WE'RE ALSO THINKING
ABOUT LONG-TERM,

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AND LONG-TERM, WE WOULD LIKE
TO HAVE EVEN LARGER-SCALE HIADs.

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- SO THE ENGINEERS
WORKED THEIR DESIGNS ON PAPER,

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THEN BUILT SMALL VERSIONS
THAT COULD BE TESTED.

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SUBSEQUENT TESTS
INVOLVED LARGER HIAD,

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UNTIL THE ENGINEERS
HAD THE DATA THEY NEED

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TO BUILD A HIAD
PERFECT FOR A SPECIFIC TASK.

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BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN
NO ONE'S THOUGHT

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ABOUT A FULLY DEVELOPED HIAD
AND HOW IT MIGHT PERFORM

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OR JUST WHAT A FULL-SIZED HIAD
MIGHT ALLOW US TO DO.

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- IN THE FUTURE,
WE'D LIKE TO HAVE HIADs

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THAT GO LARGER SCALE,
IN THE 25-METER-DIAMETER RANGE.

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SO RIGHT NOW, WE'RE WORKING
ON A CONCEPT CALLED H.E.A.R.T.,

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THE HIGH ENERGY
ATMOSPHERIC REENTRY TEST.

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SO IN ORDER TO MEET THAT GOAL,
THERE'S A NUMBER OF THINGS

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THAT THE HIAD TEAM
IS WORKING ON.

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ONE OF THEM IS THE FLEXIBLE
THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM

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AND THE MATERIALS
THAT ARE USED FOR IT.

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ANOTHER ONE IS THE MATERIALS
USED ON THE INFLATABLE STRUCTURE

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AND HOW THE MANUFACTURING
PROCESS CAN BE IMPROVED.

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AND ALONG
WITH THE BOTH OF THOSE

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IS THE INSTRUMENTATION
THAT GOES ON THEM

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SO THAT WE CAN COLLECT

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PERFORMANCE AND SURVIVABILITY
DATA IN FLIGHT.

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AND THEN ALSO,

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WITH A LOT OF OTHER
ENGINEERING DISCIPLINES,

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THERE'S ALREADY STANDARDS
AND CODES IN PLACE

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TO HELP US ANALYZE AND PREDICT
WHAT WE'RE GONNA SEE IN FLIGHT,

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AND SINCE THIS
IS A NEW TECHNOLOGY,

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WE'RE HAVING TO LOOK
AT DIFFERENT WAYS AND METHODS

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FOR HOW TO BE MORE EFFICIENT
ABOUT THAT

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AND HOW TO ACCURATELY PREDICT.

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SO ALL THE GROUND TESTING
AND THE FLIGHT TESTING

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COMBINED TOGETHER

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IS WHAT HELPS US ULTIMATELY
HOPEFULLY GET TO THAT GOAL

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OF A LARGER-SCALE HIAD
IN THE FUTURE.

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- THE RESEARCH THAT ENGINEERS
ARE DOING TODAY

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LEADS US TO THE TECHNOLOGY
OF TOMORROW.

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AND THE TECHNOLOGY OF TOMORROW
CAN HELP US ANSWER QUESTIONS

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SCIENTISTS HAVE
ABOUT OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

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SO WHERE ARE SOME OF THE PLACES
THIS NEW HIAD TECHNOLOGY

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COULD EVENTUALLY TAKE US?

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- HIADs OPEN THE POSSIBILITIES
TO GO EXPLORE

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ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT PLACES
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

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SO THE SOLAR SYSTEM
IS MOVING VERY FAST,

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AND A LOT OF LOCATIONS
OR DESTINATIONS HAVE ATMOSPHERES

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THAT HIADs WOULD ALLOW US
TO SLOW DOWN AND ACTUALLY STOP

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AND TAKE A LOOK
AND EXPLORE THOSE PLACES

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AND LEARN FROM THE SCIENCE
THAT'S THERE

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TO HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

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AND ULTIMATELY HELP US
UNDERSTAND OUR EARTH HERE TOO.

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BUT DON'T FORGET THE COMPONENT

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ABOUT BEING ABLE
TO RETURN TO EARTH.

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THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT
APPLICATIONS THERE.

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WE COULD EITHER
BRING BACK RESOURCES

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FROM THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION

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OR MAYBE RESOURCES FROM OBJECTS
ORBITING NEAR THE EARTH,

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SUCH AS ASTEROIDS,

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OR POSSIBLY EVEN RECOVERY
OF SYSTEMS

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THAT ARE USED ON LAUNCHES,

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SO BOOSTER RECOVERY,
FOR EXAMPLE.

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THERE'S PROBABLY
OTHER CAPABILITIES

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THAT WE HAVEN'T EVEN
THOUGHT OF YET,

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SO, YOU KNOW,
KEEP AN OPEN MIND

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ABOUT THE DIFFERENT
POSSIBILITIES

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OF WHERE A HIAD
COULD BE USED.

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- SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
DRIVES ENGINEERING,

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AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPED
BY ENGINEERS

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RESULT IN NEW
SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS

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JUST WAITING TO BE ANSWERED.

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AND WITH NASA ENGINEERS
WORKING ON HIAD,

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WE MAY GET THE ANSWERS
TO THOSE QUESTIONS

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AT HYPERSONIC SPEED.

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THAT'S IT FOR NOW.

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I'M CALEB.

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CATCH YOU NEXT TIME
ON "NASA LAUNCHPAD."