Tuesday, March 24, 2009

NASA Tests Heaviest Chute Drop Ever

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday March 24, @02:48AM

from the not-so-fast dept.
NASASpaceTechnology
Iddo Genuth writes"NASA and the US Air Force have successfully tested a new super-chute system aimed at reclaiming reusable Ares booster rockets. On February 28, 2009 a 50,000-pound dummy rocket booster was dropped in the Arizona desert and slowed by a system of five parachutes before it crashed to the ground. The booster landed softly without any damage. This was possibly the heaviest parachute drop ever, and NASA is planning to perform even heavier drops of up to 90,000 pounds in the next few months."

No comments: