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Adrogue parachute, also calleddrag chute, is aparachute designed for deployment from a rapidly moving object. It can be used for various purposes, such as to decrease speed, to provide control and stability, as a pilot parachute to deploy a larger parachute or a combination of these. Vehicles that have used drogue parachutes include multistage parachutes, aircraft, andspacecraft recovery systems.[1]
The drogue parachute was invented byRussian professor and parachute specialistGleb Kotelnikov in 1912, who also invented theknapsack parachute. TheSoviet Union introduced its first aircraft fitted with drogue parachutes during the mid 1930s; use of the technology expanded during and after theSecond World War. A large number ofjet-powered aircraft have been furnished with drogue parachutes, including theBoeing B-52 Stratofortressstrategic bomber and theEurofighter Typhoonmultirole aircraft; they were also commonly used within crewed space vehicle recovery programmes, includingProject Mercury andProject Gemini. The drogue parachute has also been extensively used uponejection seats as a means of stabilisation and deceleration.
The drogue parachute was first used during 1912 in a ground-based parachute test in the absence of airplanes, by Russian inventor Gleb Kotelnikov, who had patented an early canister-packed knapsack parachute a few months before this test. On a road nearTsarskoye Selo (now part ofSt. Petersburg), Kotelnikov successfully demonstrated the braking effects of such a parachute by accelerating aRusso-Balt automobile to its top speed and then opening a parachute attached to the back seat.[2]
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During 1937, the Soviet Union decided to adopt the drogue parachute for the first time on a limited number of their aircraft, specifically those assigned to operate within theArctic to provide logistical support for the famouspolar expeditions of the era, such as the firstdrifting ice stationsNorth Pole-1, which was launched that same year. The drogue parachute was credited with enabling airplanes to land safely on smallerice floes that were otherwise unfeasible landing sites.[2]
One of the earliest production-standard military aircraft to use a drogue parachute to slow down and shorten its landings was theArado Ar 234, ajet-powered reconnaissance-bomber used by theLuftwaffe. Both the trolley-and-skid undercarriage series of eight prototypes for the never-produced Ar 234A series — one on the aircraft, and a separate system on the aft surface of the trolley's main axle — and the tricycle undercarriage-equipped Ar 234B production series were fitted with a drogue parachute deployment capability in the extreme rear ventral fuselage.[citation needed]
During thespace race between the United States and the Soviet Union, drogue parachutes were adopted on numerous spacecraft. All human space programs managed byNASA and theSoviets in that time, includingProject Mercury and theApollo program, employed drogue parachutes in their vehicle recovery systems alongside the larger main parachutes.[4][5][6][7] The large budget granted to NASA at the time allowed for the extensive development of parachutes, also including drogues that were designed for deployment in extreme conditions and proved useful forinterplanetary missions.[8] TheSpace Shuttle, which landed on a runway, also found benefit in using a drag chute during landing.[3] Itssolid rocket boosters were also recovered with the help of drogue parachutes.[9]
In comparison to a conventional parachute, the drogue parachute is more elongated and has a far smaller surface area; as a result, it provides far lessdrag. The drogue parachute can be deployed at speeds at which conventional parachutes would be torn apart, although it will not slow an object as much as a conventional parachute would do.[10] Due to its simpler design, the drogue parachute is also easier to deploy, minimizing the risk of becoming tangled while unfolding or failing to inflate properly.
Drogue parachutes are sometimes used to deploy a main or reserve parachute by using the drag generated by the drogue to pull the main parachute out of its container. Such a drogue is referred to as apilot chute when used in a single user (sports) parachute system. The pilot chute is only used to deploy the main or reserve parachute; it is not used for slowing down or for stability.Tandem systems are different; a drogue is deployed shortly after exiting the aircraft to reduce the terminal velocity of the pair of tandem jumpers during freefall. It is later used to deploy the main parachute as on single-person parachutes.[11][12]
Numerous innovations and improvements have been made to drogue parachutes intended for this purpose; examples include apatent for an antispinning feature granted during 1972,[13] and improved force distribution granted in 2011.[14]
When used to shorten an aircraft's landing distance, a drogue chute is called adrag parachute orbraking parachute. They remain effective for landings on wet or icy runways and for high-speed emergency landings.[15]
Braking parachutes are also employed to slow down cars duringdrag racing; theNational Hot Rod Association requires their installation on all vehicles able to attain speeds of 150 miles per hour or greater. They have also been installed on multiple experimental vehicles intended to conductland speed record attempts.[16][17]
Drogue parachutes may also be used to help stabilise direction of objects in flight, such as thrownRKG-3 anti-tank grenades orair-dropped bombs.Stall recovery parachutes are used to mitigate risk of uncontrollablespins duringairworthinessflight testing.[18] It has been used for similar purposes when applied to several nuclear bombs, such as theB61 andB83, slowing the weapon's descent to provide the aircraft that dropped it enough time to escape the nuclear blast.[citation needed]
Drogue parachutes have found use onejection seats to both stabilise and to slow down almost immediately following deployment, examples include theACES II personal escape system.[19] Similarly, a number of escape capsules, used on both supersonic aircraft and spacecraft, have employed drogue parachutes both for stability and braking, allowing either a main chute to be deployed or for the pilot to exit the capsule and use a personal parachute.[20][21]
Drogue parachutes remain a key technology for spaceflight, because they can be used to gain control of very fast descents, including those of spacecraft duringatmospheric entry. They are usually deployed until having established entry conditions that allow for the use of main parachutes orretropropulsion. These include theBoeing X-37 spaceplane,[22][23]SpaceXDragon capsules[24] and fairing halves,[25]Rocket LabElectron first stages,[26]ISRO'sGaganyaan modules[27] and theChang'e 5 re-entry craft.[28] TheStardust andOSIRIS-REx sample return capsules[29] and all successfulMars landing missions as of January 2024[30] used supersonic drogue parachutes. Some high-altitude rockets have also used drogue chutes as part of a dual-deployment system, subsequently deploying a main parachute to control and slow their descent.[20][21]
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