Space agencies across the world will soon have little reason to worry whenever their International Space Station payloads are due to return to the surface. NASA's new Exo-Brake technology, revealed recently, may be able to return launched units into space back to Earth safely and accurately as early as in the first quarter of next year. The best part? It could save a lot of fuel-related costs and develop future interplanetary transportation tech.
NASA's Exo-Brake, according to Phys.Org, is what's called a "tension-based, flexible braking device" that works much like a small parachute. It's a de-orbit device that pops out from the rear end of a satellite to make it ride slower to Earth by increasing the drag that works against its velocity, and it aims to replace more conventional rocket de-orbiting systems. Instead of pushing payloads forward back to Earth, the Exo-Brake allows the actual braking action, which would save fuel.
The Exo-Brake would essentially allow space engineers to pilot the re-entering spacecraft by basically gliding it toward a specific, desired point of entry into the atmosphere. It wouldn't necessitate the use of acceleration and fuel, allowing re-entry to be a more precise affair. By the use of the Exo-Brake, NASA wants to make sure smaller payloads return to Earth undamaged. Another potential use of the Exo-Brake would be a first step to developing more advanced technologies for micro- or nanosatellites that could land accurately on other planets, like Mars, for whatever purpose.
The Exo-Brake has actually been in development since 2012, having been tested on smaller payloads such as balloons and sub-orbital rockets, and earlier versions of the technology have also seen testing on smaller extra orbital units. The Exo-Brake will be stocked on the International Space Station until it is ready for deployment on returning payloads early next year.