Parachute

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A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Parachutes are made out of cloth, most commonly nylon. Parachutes are often used to slow the descent of an object falling through an atmosphere. Drogue parachutes are also used to aid horizontal deceleration of a vehicle (a fixed-wing aircraft, or a drag racer), or to provide stability (tandem free-fall, or space shuttle after touchdown). The word "parachute" comes from a French word with a Ancient Greek prefix: "para", meaning "against" or "counter" in Ancient Greek, and "chute", the French word for "fall". Many modern parachutes are classified as semi-rigid wings, which are quite maneuverable, and can facilitate a controlled descent.

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News tagged with parachute

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2 parachutes malfunctioned in NASA test flight (AP)

2 parachutes malfunctioned in NASA test flight

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Oct 30, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 1

(AP) -- Two of three parachutes malfunctioned in the test flight of a prototype moon rocket earlier this week, causing major damage to the booster, NASA said Friday.


NASA: Booster rocket damaged in test flight (AP)

NASA: Booster rocket damaged in test flight

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Oct 29, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (6) | comments 0

(AP) -- NASA says the booster rocket used in a test flight was badly dented when it fell into the Atlantic.


Slipper-shaped blood cells

Slipper-shaped blood cells

Physics / General Physics

created Oct 26, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Red blood cells, which make up 45 percent of blood, normally take the shape of circular cushions with a dimple on either side. But they can sometimes deform into an asymmetrical slipper shape. A team of physicists ...


NASA Tests Load Limits for Ares I Rocket Main Parachute

NASA Tests Load Limits for Ares I Rocket Main Parachute

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Oct 09, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA and industry engineers conducted a design limit load test of the Ares I rocket's main parachute Oct. 8 at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground near Yuma, Ariz. The Ares I is the first ...


MIT Student Takes Pictures from Space on Less Than $150 (w/ Video)

MIT Student Takes Pictures from Space on Less Than $150 (w/ Video)

Technology / Engineering

created Oct 02, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (16) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- When we think of taking pictures of the earth from space, we assume that a great deal of money has to be spent on high-tech equipment and complex vehicles to get the camera up there. But, ...


Air Force report: Ares I crew couldn't survive blast in first minute

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jul 19, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 3

The crew of NASA's newest spacecraft "will not survive" an explosion of the Ares I rocket within the first minute of launch because blazing chunks of solid-rocket fuel would melt the parachutes on the crew-escape system, ...


NASA Launch Tests Alternate Concept for Astronaut Escape System

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jun 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

NASA's Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, is scheduled to be tested June 15 at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. The launch window extends from approximately 5:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. EDT.


NASA Conducts First Ares I Rocket Cluster Parachute Test

NASA Conducts First Ares I Rocket Cluster Parachute Test

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 20, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Unfurling in majestic patriotic colors, a successful cluster test of the Ares I rocket's three, 1-ton main parachutes was conducted May 20 by NASA and industry engineers at the U.S. Army Yuma ...


NASA to Test World's Largest Rocket Parachutes for Ares I

NASA to Test World's Largest Rocket Parachutes for Ares I

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 18, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- With Memorial Day just around the corner, NASA plans a spectacular aerial display May 20 of the newly designed parachute recovery system for its Ares I rocket. The centerpieces for the test ...


Ares Super-chute

Ares Super-chute

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 16, 2009 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0

NASA and U.S. Air Force test pilots have just dropped a 50,000-pound "dummy" rocket booster on the Arizona desert--and stopped it before it crashed. It's all part of NASA's plan to return to the Moon.


NASA Successfully Tests Parachute for Ares Rocket

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 02, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA and industry engineers successfully completed the second drop test of a drogue parachute for the Ares I rocket. The test took place Feb. 28 at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground near Yuma, Ariz.


NASA Successfully Tests Parachute for Ares Rocket

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jul 25, 2008 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA and industry engineers have successfully completed the first drop test of a drogue parachute for the Ares I rocket. The drogue parachute is designed to slow the rapid descent of the spent first-stage ...