Bringing a Mini-Spacecraft Back to Earth Safely - Without a Parachute

Time to add another page in the history of space exploration in New Hampshire. This week a team of high school students taking part in the Project SMART summer program at UNH sent a small craft 105,700 feet into the air – that’s over 20 miles up. And it came back down to Earth without a parachute.

To explain how they did it, we turn to Louis Broad. He teaches at Timberlane Regional High School in Plaistow and he worked with the students who launched the craft. He tells All Things Considered host Brady Carlson how the design of the craft allows it to descend slowly enough that it doesn't need a parachute to return safely to Earth.

The UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space website has Quicktime video of the flight.