NASA said the LOFTID test of an inflatable heat shield, seen here after recovery form the Pacific, was a success. Credit: NASA/Greg Swanson WASHINGTON — The success of a NASA project last year to ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Upon reentry ...

In preparation for future missions to Mars, NASA is developing a new method for shielding spacecraft from the fiery inferno of atmospheric entry, and it’s doing so by using a series of what appear to ...

This week NASA launched a new weather satellite, JPSS-2, into polar orbit around the Earth. But this launch was a special one, as it also included a test of a new inflatable heat shield called LOFTID.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket boosted a high-power weather satellite into orbit early Thursday and then fired an inflated "decelerator" back into the atmosphere for a hypersonic re-entry in ...

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-2 mission for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Aeronautics and ...

The LOFTID mission tested a novel approach to guiding spacecraft through the extreme heat of returning from orbit, which could be used to put people on Mars. By Kenneth Chang On Thursday morning, NASA ...