PIA18425: LDSD Chute Beneath the Surface
 Target Name:  Earth
 Mission:  LDSD
 Product Size:  4850 x 3223 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA18425.tif (46.92 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA18425.jpg (2.298 MB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

The Supersonic Disk Sail Parachute, one of the new technologies being developed as part of NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project, floats just below the surface of the Pacific Ocean after the completion of its first flight test, on June 28, 2014. The test occurred off the coast of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. The photo was obtained by Navy divers during recovery of the LDSD test vehicle and parachute.

NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate funds the LDSD mission, a cooperative effort led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. NASA's Technology Demonstration Mission program manages LDSD at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, coordinated support with the Pacific Missile Range Facility, provided the core electrical systems for the test vehicle, and coordinated the balloon and recovery services for the LDSD test.

For more information about the LDSD space technology demonstration mission: http://go.usa.gov/kzZQz.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image Addition Date:
2014-08-08