NASA craft flies high in a tech test
LOOK OUT, Martians, NASA has its own flying saucer.
A NASA vehicle launched by balloon high into Earth’s atmosphere splashed down Saturday in the Pacific in a mostly successful test of technology that could be used to land on the red planet.
The flight tested a novel vehicle and a giant t parachute designed to o deliver heavy spacecraft and eventually astronauts. Despite the e parachute not fully de- ploying, NASA called the three-hour mission a success.
After taking off from Hawaii, the balloon boosted the vehicle over the ocean. Its rocket motor ignited, carrying the saucer more than 30 miles high at supersonic speeds. As the vehicle prepared to return to Earth, a tube around it expanded, creating atmospheric drag to dramatically slow it down from Mach 4.