Posted by tourdemars to Inflatables at December 15, 2004 11:14 AM

The test flight of a potentially revolutionary transportation system for future space missions has been delayed several months for more preflight testing, project officials announced Tuesday. Originally planned for the second half of December, the flight of the Demonstrator-3 inflatable space vehicle will now occur sometime in the spring of 2005. Sometimes referred to as a “ballute,” or “balloon parachute,” the technology has for decades been recognized as a potential breakthrough, but sufficiently strong materials had never been available. “Technically, inflatables are feasible,” said retired NASA futurist Joe Loftus, who once headed the advanced planning office at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “The question is: What is it that will make them desirable?”