WEBVTT

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- GIANT CONES MADE

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OF INFLATED KEVLAR TUBES
STACKED TOGETHER

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MAY SOMEDAY ALLOW CARGO
OR EVEN PEOPLE

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TO LAND ON OTHER PLANETS
OR RETURN TO EARTH.

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NASA CALLS THIS NEW
SPACECRAFT TECHNOLOGY HIAD:

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HYPERSONIC INFLATABLE
AERODYNAMIC DECELERATORS.

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BUT WHAT'S SO SPECIAL
ABOUT HIAD?

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FIND OUT MORE
NEXT ON "REAL WORLD."

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ENGINEERS MUST CONQUER
THE CHALLENGES OF DESIGNING

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AN INFLATABLE SPACECRAFT
AND FLEXIBLE HEAT SHIELD

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THAT CAN SURVIVE
THE HIGH SPEED

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AND HEAT OF ENTRY
INTO AN ATMOSPHERE.

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HIGH-TECH FLEXIBLE MATERIALS
AND INFLATABLE STRUCTURES

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ARE BEING DEVELOPED
IN LABORATORIES RIGHT NOW.

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BUT BEFORE THEY CAN BE USED
TO TRAVEL TO MARS,

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WE NEED TO DO SOME
FLIGHT TESTING HERE ON EARTH.

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THE INFLATABLE REENTRY
VEHICLE EXPERIMENT,

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OTHERWISE KNOWN AS IRVE-3,

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PROVIDED A FLIGHT DEMONSTRATION
OF THIS INFLATABLE CONCEPT.

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- IRVE IS AN INFLATABLE REENTRY
HEAT SHIELD

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WHICH WE'RE TESTING
IN THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

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IN 2009, WE FLEW IRVE-2,

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WHICH WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL

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AND DEMONSTRATED
THAT WE COULD INFLATE

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A PACKED VEHICLE
TO ITS FULL DIAMETER IN SPACE

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AND THAT IT WOULD BE STABLE
THROUGHOUT REENTRY.

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NOW WE'RE TESTING IRVE-3,

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WHICH IS THE FOLLOW-ON
TO THE PREVIOUS MISSION.

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AND IT WILL DEMONSTRATE
HIGHER HEATING

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USING A LARGER ROCKET
TO LAUNCH A HEAVIER PAYLOAD,

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INFLATE STILL BEHIND THE SAME

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THREE-METER-DIAMETER
HEAT SHIELD,

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BUT WITH SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER
REENTRY HEATING

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THAT IS RELEVANT
TOWARD A REENTRY ON MARS.

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- WHENEVER A SPACECRAFT

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TRAVERSES AN ATMOSPHERE
TO LAND ON A PLANETARY SURFACE,

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WHETHER IT'S HERE ON EARTH

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OR AT SOME OTHER PLACE,
LIKE MARS,

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THE SPACECRAFT
MUST WITHSTAND TREMENDOUS FORCES

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AND LAND SAFELY
TO PROTECT ITS PRECIOUS CARGO.

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AN INFLATABLE SPACECRAFT
COULD ALLOW NASA TO SEND

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MORE SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS
TO DISTANT WORLDS.

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SINCE THE INFLATABLE EXPANDS

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AFTER BEING PACKED
INSIDE A ROCKET,

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IT CAN DELIVER LARGER PAYLOADS.

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THE INFLATABLE SPACECRAFT

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IS DRAPED
WITH A FLEXIBLE HEAT SHIELD.

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THE PURPOSE OF THE HEAT SHIELD

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IS TO SLOW DOWN THE SPACECRAFT
AS IT ENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE

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AND PROTECT THE SPACECRAFT

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FROM HIGH TEMPERATURES
EXPERIENCED DURING REENTRY.

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SO WHY DOES SIZE MATTER?

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WELL, THE LARGER THE TOTAL
DIAMETER OF THE HEAT SHIELD,

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THE GREATER THE DRAG FORCE
THAT'S GENERATED.

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YOU CAN THINK ABOUT DRAG
AS THE RESISTANCE TO MOTION

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AN OBJECT HAS AS IT PASSES
THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE.

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SEVERAL FACTORS INFLUENCE DRAG:

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THE SHAPE OF THE VEHICLE,
THE DENSITY OF THE ATMOSPHERE.

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BUT ONE FACTOR STANDS OUT,

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MATHEMATICALLY SPEAKING.

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DRAG IS DIRECTLY RELATED
TO THE SURFACE AREA.

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SO WHEN ALL OTHER FACTORS

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THAT AFFECT THE AERODYNAMICS
OF A SPACECRAFT REMAIN THE SAME,

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IF YOU INCREASE THE DIAMETER
TO DOUBLE THE SURFACE AREA,

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YOU DOUBLE THE DRAG.

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THIS INCREASED DRAG
CAN THEN BE USED

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TO SLOW DOWN THE SPACECRAFT,

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ALLOWING IT TO LAND

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WHERE NO SPACECRAFT
HAD LANDED BEFORE.

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RESEARCHERS AND ENGINEERS

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APPLY MATH LIKE THIS
IN THE MODELS AND TESTS,

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BUT THEY CAN'T RELY SOLELY
ON COMPUTER SIMULATIONS.

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- THE COMPUTATIONAL MODELS
ARE GOOD AT MODELING

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EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE
A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF.

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FOR A NEW TECHNOLOGY,

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WE REALLY NEED TO DO
A FLIGHT EXPERIMENT

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TO SHOW THAT THERE ARE
NO UNKNOWNS OUT THERE

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THAT ARE GOING TO BITE US

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IF WE TRY TO USE THEM

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ON A MUCH LARGER PAYLOAD.

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- THE HIAD TEAM
DEVELOPED MODELS,

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CONDUCTED SIMULATIONS,

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AND CONDUCTED TESTS

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IN LABORATORIES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY

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AND THEN USED THESE

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TO PREDICT HOW IRVE-3
WOULD PERFORM.

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BUT ON THE GROUND,

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YOU CAN'T SIMULTANEOUSLY MATCH

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ALL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

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THAT A SPACECRAFT
WILL EXPERIENCE

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DURING AN ATMOSPHERIC FLIGHT.

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SO THE NEXT STEP
WAS TO ACTUALLY LAUNCH A HIAD

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ON BOARD A SMALL ROCKET

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TO DEMONSTRATE
THE TECHNOLOGY WITH IRVE-3.

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AND THE FLIGHT TEST
WAS A GREAT SUCCESS.

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ENGINEERS ARE NOW TAKING
THE DATA AND KNOWLEDGE

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THEY'VE GAINED
FROM THE IRVE-3 FLIGHT

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AND APPLYING IT

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AS THEY LOOK AHEAD
TO FUTURE HIAD APPLICATIONS.

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WITH EACH GROUND TEST
AND FLIGHT OPPORTUNITY,

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THOSE MODELS
ARE ANCHORED AND VALIDATED.

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THIS PROVIDES CONFIDENCE
AS WE PREPARE

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FOR LARGER HIAD CAPABLE
OF TRANSPORTING MORE CARGO.

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- THIS IS ALL PART OF
THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS.

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IN ORDER TO GET A PAYLOAD

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THAT MEETS
THE MISSION REQUIREMENTS,

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WE NEED TO FIRST
COME UP WITH A DESIGN,

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ANALYZE IT,

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SEE HOW IT WILL DO

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AGAINST
THE EXPECTED ENVIRONMENTS,

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AND THEN WE CONDUCT
A SERIES OF TESTS

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ON SUBSCALE HARDWARE

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TO SHOW THAT EACH OF THOSE
WILL WORK.

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ONCE THE SYSTEM
IS SHOWN TO WORK,

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WE PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

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AND GO AHEAD
AND DO THE FLIGHT TEST.

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- ENGINEERS HAVE BEEN MODIFYING
THE SAME BASIC TECHNOLOGIES

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TO EVERY NASA MISSION TO MARS
SINCE VIKING.

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BUT WITH HIAD,

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NASA ENGINEERS
ARE REALLY HEATING THINGS UP

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WITH INFLATABLE TECHNOLOGIES

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THAT CAN CHANGE THE WAY
WE EXPLORE OTHER WORLDS.

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SEE YOU NEXT TIME
ON "REAL WORLD."