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Free-Flight Test of a Technique for Inflating an NASA 12-Foot-Diameter Sphere at High AltitudesA free-flight test has been conducted to check a technique for inflating an NASA 12-foot-diameter inflatable sphere at high altitudes. Flight records indicated that the nose section was successfully separated from the booster rocket, that the sphere was ejected, and that the nose section was jettisoned from the fully inflated sphere. On the basis of preflight and flight records, it is believed that the sphere was fully inflated by the time of peak altitude (239,000 feet). Calculations showed that during descent, jettison of the nose section occurred above an altitude of 150,000 feet. The inflatable sphere was estimated to start to deform during descent at an altitude of about 120,000 feet.
Document ID
19980232004
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Other - NASA Memorandum (MEMO)
Authors
Kehlet, Alan B. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA United States)
Patterson, Herbert G. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1959
Subject Category
Aerodynamics
Report/Patent Number
L-214
NASA-MEMO-2-5-59L
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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