A
ballute (a
portmanteau of
balloon and
parachute) is a parachute-like braking device optimized for use at high altitudes and
supersonic velocities.
The original ballute configuration was invented in 1958
[1] by the
Goodyear company. The innovation soon caught the attention of other organisations, including
NASA; the agency incorporated ballutes into the escape system of the
Gemini spacecraft. It has subsequently seen extensive use within the aerospace sector as a means of retarding the descent of various payloads, such as sections of
rockets and atmospheric probes. Various proposals involving ballutes, such as for deorbiting/recovering low-mass
satellites and interplanetary research programmes, have been issued in recent decades.
