Reaching High Altitudes on Mars with an Inflatable Hypersonic Drag Balloon

Hannes Griebel studies space applications for the hypersonic drag balloon (ballute), specifically emergency low Earth orbit recovery and delivering payloads to high altitude landing sites on Mars. The author discusses the theory behind such a mission along with experience gained during its practical implementation, such as mission design, manufacturing, packing and deployment techniques as well as ground and flight tests.