Description

A giant cone of inner tubes stacked togethermay someday help cargo, or even people, land on another planet orreturn to Earth. NASA calls the spacecraft technology HIAD -Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator.

Learn the challenges NASA faces as it works to develop aninflatable spacecraft. Choose the right shape, materials andtrajectory to use a HIAD to bring cargo back from space.

To successfully guide an inflatable spacecraft through the superheat of atmospheric re-entry requires the right stuff. If youinflate too early, your shape is incorrect or your material isn’tstrong enough - you burn up. And if you get all that right and missthe target the mission is a bust.

Try your hand at landing a HIAD and become a rocket scientist.Advance through all stages at each of the four levels, collectingup to three stars for each successful landing.

The HIAD game challenges players to successfully land a HIADafter launching from the International Space Station and arrivingat a target ground point on Earth. To successfully reach thetarget, players must:

• Undock from the ISS and use thruster control to steer thespacecraft towards the desired de-orbit point
• Inflate the HIAD aeroshell to reduce velocity and protect thepayload from the heat of atmospheric re-entry
• Steer the inflated HIAD to the ground target prior to parachutedeployment, taking into account the prevailing winds
• Customize the HIAD vehicle to achieve different performancecharacteristics to improve results

FEATURES

• Multiple spacecraft configurations and options
• Speed and trajectory controls
• In-game introduction
• Four levels of engineering mastery
• Locked levels
• Scoring for each level
• Help section
• Links to related website