LOFTID Flight Re-entry Vehicle Stack and Match Mate Time Lapse

Langley engineers stack the forward, mid, and aft, or rear, segments of flight re-entry vehicle for Bernard Kutter’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator. LOFTID is a demonstration of inflatable heat shield technology that could one day help land humans on Mars. The re-entry vehicle’s forward segment connects the inflatable heat shield to the inflation system; the mid-segment contains the interface to the United Launch Alliance rocket, along with critical power, control, and data acquisition electronics; and the aft segment houses the ejectable data recorder, cameras, and the parachute system.