JPL rocket-saucer test brings good info for potential Mars mission

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- A rocket-powered saucer launches into near-space for a test flight. It's a vehicle NASA hopes to one day use above Mars.

At its core, the concept isn't all that complicated. You get an enormous balloon to lift a rocket-powered saucer into the upper reaches of the stratosphere, then you let it fall to Earth.

That's exactly what scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory did in the skies above Hawaii. The data gathered during this test flight might someday help scientists deliver large payloads to the surface of Mars.

"The vehicle performed flawlessly. It got us to all the right test conditions. It survived all of the deployments," said JPL Principal Investigator Ian Clark.

Clark is the principal investigator for the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator. Clark and his team are trying to figure out ways to slow down the saucer as it plummets to the Earth at supersonic speeds -- and that's where things get complicated.

"This particular flight was really just a shake-out flight," said Clark. "We wanted to see if we could fly this 15-foot barn door through the atmosphere at 3,000 miles an hour."

The lead researchers discussed the results of their test flight at a news conference at JPL Friday morning.

"Really this is like the second step of a 12-step program to get to the point where we can put very, very large things on Mars," said Mark Adler, JPL Mars Exploration Program architect.

Eyewitness News got an up-close look at the decelerator vehicle earlier this summer as it was being assembled at JPL. During the test flight in June, the inflatable rings that work to create aerodynamic resistance worked like a charm.

But the enormous parachute that was supposed to help slow things down disintegrated. But even though the parachute failed, scientists say the test flight was a success.

"This is technology development," said Clark. "If everything worked perfectly, you probably weren't pushing the technologies hard enough."

Another more rigorous test flight is scheduled for next year.