One of the biggest issues with coming back to Earth from space is that our atmosphere protects us from impacts quite nicely.
I mean, we still get some, but compare the moon.
Unfortunately, our atmosphere also "protects" us from our own returning spacecraft. Friction as the object enters the atmosphere causes intense heat that can destroy a spacecraft.
The Columbia accident shows us what happens when the technology we use to protect our ships fails.
Next week, NASA will launch a test of a new kind of protective technology. The LOFTID (Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator) mission will test an inflatable heat shield. If it works, then it will significantly reduce the weight of heat shields...and thus the cost of getting the craft off the planet in the first place.
It's primarily intended for Mars, but may also be used for large return payloads to Earth...such as if we start mining platinum or other rare materials from near earth asteroids. The weight of the shield has historically limited what we can return.
Wishing them luck (and wondering how I never heard about this until today).
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