Global
Aerospace has been given NASA funding to study the use of ballutes in planetary
atmospheric entry and descent, aerodynamic orbital capture, and aerodynamic
gravity assist.
Ballutes (from BALLoon plus parachUTE) are basically
large, inflatable devices that use atmospheric drag to decelerate
spacecraft; they were invented by Goodyear Aerospace in 1958.
The company is developing
the Hypersonic Control Modeling and Simulation Tool (HyperCMST). It will be
used to study the problem of controlling the trajectory of different hypersonic
space vehicles as they maneuver close to planets and satellites with
substantial atmospheres.
HyperCMST will be used to
develop a new type of ballute called a lifting-towed-toroidal-ballute for use
in orbit capture or atmosphere entry. Most ballute concepts are used for
braking; drag-only devices that cannot be steered. However, Global Aerospace
hopes to manipulate the tether lengths between the spacecraft and the ballute
to create aerodynamic lift, making steering possible.
NASA has looked at ballute
idea before; most recently, their Fly
Higher, Fly Lighter program (2004) aimed to use ballutes to lower the cost
of putting a satellite into orbit. Taking this approach translates to using
less propellant to slip a satellite into a proper orbit, lower launch costs,
and makes more room on spacecraft for sensors and other payload gear.
Science
fiction fans have already had a great look at the use of ballutes in the
1984 movie 2010, a sequel to the earlier Arthur
C. Clarke film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Take a look at this dramatic video
clip from 2010 showing the deployment of the ballute on the Russian
spacecraft Leonov.
(This Science Fiction
in the News story used with permission of Technovelgy.com)
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