The Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD), which will be used to drop payloads on Mars or Venus in the future, has undergone successful testing by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). For aerodynamically slowing down an item as it descends through the atmosphere, the IAD is currently being developed.

Inside the payload compartment of a sounding rocket that was launched from TERLS Thumba, the technology was folded and kept safe. The IAD was inflated and plummeted into the atmosphere with the payload portion of the sounding rocket after the rocket carried it to a height of 84 kilometres.

The primary goal of this mission, according to ISRO, was to demonstrate IAD technology for use in spent stage recovery and planetary entry.

Throughout the test, the IAD consistently applied aerodynamic drag to lower the payload’s velocity while maintaining the expected trajectory. The first time an IAD has been created exclusively for spent stage recovery is now. ISRO claimed that ‘all the mission’s objectives were effectively demonstrated.’

The Kevlar fabric used to construct the IAD has a polychloroprene coating. IAD can be packed inside the RH300’s nosecone’s modest 15-liter volume since it is constructed of fabric.

Saturday’s mission was a test bed for nine new elements developed in the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre & LPSC, which includes the following:

Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator & Inflation system

Micro Video Imaging System
Software Defined Radio Telemetry-Dual Transmitter (SDRT-DTx)
Acoustics Processing Unit with mini-IMAS (Indigenous MEMS Acoustic Sensors)
New software for wind compensation for TERLS
Modified nosecone separation system
Modified FLSC separation system for RH300
Improved 1s delay detonator for spin rocket separation
Thermally conducting and electrically insulating potting compound