Design, Development, Testing, and In-flight Qualification of a Parachute Recovery System

摘要

Development of aerodynamic accelerators for aerospace applications is rather a complex and challenging endeavor, and it is even more so when it has to be conceived for winged systems to be recovered off their flight in supersonic conditions. In the case of the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali unmanned space vehicle Polluce, a somewhat revolutionary approach was adopted for acquisition of the parachute recovery system, based upon adoption of a terminal area energy management strategy and the use of a completely commercial off-the-shelf one-stage-only parachute system used in general aviation aircraft The development process actually required implementation of a great engineering effort to customize the activation system, which in general aviation aircraft is usually performed only by the pilot in case of emergency. The parachute recovery system of Polluce was successfully used during drop transonic flight test #2, ensuring a safe mission termination and the vehicle recovery after sea splashdown.