'Flying saucer': NASA live-streamed Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator test

(Phys.org)--NASA live-streamed a balance test conducted on the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) spacecraft yesterday (after a two hour delay) to ensure the 15 foot diameter flying saucer-looking craft will be balanced when it is sent aloft over Hawaii in just a few weeks. The LDSD is a new space exploration craft that is part of NASA's mission to build a much larger vehicle for landing on the surface of Mars than those that carried probes such as the Rover missions--large enough to carr...