Tag: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

  • Huge parachute shredded during Mars entry experiment

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    STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION After dropping from a high-altitude ballon, the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator’s Star 48 rocket motor fired (left) to propel the craft to an altitude of 180,000 feet. The vehicle’s supersonic parachute ripped apart (right) as it deployed. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now Flying more than twice the speed of sound…

  • SMAP observatory unfurls large science antenna structure

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    CAPE CANAVERAL — Deploying its marquee element in space Tuesday, NASA’s new Soil Moisture Active Passive spacecraft took a major step towards realizing its science potential. SMAP unfurled a 19.7-foot lightweight, gold, rip-resistant, mesh reflector antenna atop a boom structure that will spin at 14.6 rpm, completing one rotation every four seconds. Having unfolded the…