NASA Is About to Test a Mega-Parachute at the Edge of Space
The system in question is a combination of a large parachute (Supersonic Disk Sail Parachute) and the smaller of two inflatable decelerator designs (the 6m Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator for robotic missions, or SIAD-R). (More here [pdf])
I’ve seen images of the larger SIAD-E a number of times, but didn’t know there was a smaller implementation of the concept. Interesting. As is its cousin the IRVE concept (in a way the inverse approach, using a small nose and large inflatable body, the latter composed of a stack of smaller torii rather than a single large torus).