Parachute

A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon. Parachutes must slow an object's terminal vertical speed by a minimum 75% in order to be classified as such. Depending on the situation, parachutes are used with a variety of loads, including people, food, equipment, space capsules, and bombs.

Drogue chutes are 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 a touchdown).

The word "parachute" comes from the French prefix paracete, originally from the Greek, meaning to protect against, and chute, the French word for "fall", and it was originally coined, as a hybrid word which meant literally "that which protects against a fall", by the French aeronaut François Blanchard (1753–1809) in 1785.

The world looks away as blood flows in Burundi

Edit The Guardian 10 Apr 2016

More than a quarter of a million people have fled in terror as opposition militias plot their return. Without international assistance a humanitarian disaster looms. Thierry wants to talk, but chokes on memories of blows and stabs punctuated by the sound of his father pleading for his life before masked men hacked him to death. He shrinks into himself, cold and small on a damp wooden bench just inside Tanzania ... “We can never go back.” ... ....

photo: NASA / Kim Shiflett

File - Liftoff of the Delta II rocket carrying the Kepler spacecraft.

NASA's Planet-Hunting Kepler Probe Goes Into Emergency Mode

Edit NDTV 10 Apr 2016

In a bad news for astronomers searching for extraterrestrial life in deep space, NASA's planet-hunting spacecraft Kepler has gone into an emergency mode 75 million miles from the Earth . ....

photo: NASA / NASA TV

The SpaceX Dragon is seen shortly after it was mated to the Harmony module, 10 April, 2016. The spacecraft is delivering about 7,000 pounds of science and research investigations, including the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, known as BEAM.

SpaceX delivers world's first inflatable room to ISS

Edit Al Jazeera 10 Apr 2016

SpaceX has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS), delevering the world's first inflatable tent for astronauts. The US aerospace company's unmanned Dragon cargo ship, carrying lettuce seeds, lab mice and an inflatable pop-up room, arrived on Sunday at the space station where six spacecraft are now docked ... "It looks like we've caught a Dragon," said Peake ... Source. AFP . ....

photo: AP / Khalid Mohammed, File

This Oct. 31, 2007 file photo, shows a general view of the dam in Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq.

Constant Repairs Required To Keep Iraqi Dam From Collapsing

Edit WorldNews.com 08 Apr 2016

At Iraq’s Mosul Dam, only one of the two bottom outlet gates is functioning, angrily spitting out water in a foamy white churn as birds fly above the spray, CNN reportsThe dam is considered by some experts to be among the most dangerous of its kind in the world. Completed in the mid-1980s, it was considered a necessity at the time ... – U.S. government. The lives of at least 1.5 million people could be at risk, according to U.S....

photo: creative commons /

Indonesian Singer Dies After Cobra Bites Her Onstage

Edit WorldNews.com 08 Apr 2016

An Indonesian pop star died Sunday after a king cobra, which was part of her act, bit her onstage, The Inquisitr reports. Irma Bule was famous for using venomous snakes and other reptiles, but one of her snakes fatally bit her, mid-performance ... The king cobra’s bite wasn’t supposed to sting, as the pop star was sure the snake was defanged ... She was usually partial to a boa or a python ... She was usually partial to a boa or a python....

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Sharron Davies speaks out for women 'not allowed to age as gracefully as men'

Edit Belfast Telegraph 11 Apr 2016

Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies has said women are still not permitted to "age as gracefully" as men. The 53-year-old, who has long been open about her own use of cosmetic procedures, talked about this disparity during an exclusive interview and photoshoot with Hello! magazine. Share Go To ... She explained ... She added ... The 5 ft 11in star's freefall parachute jump last year is yet another successful challenge undertaken ... ... ....

Tesco results: analysts expect strong start to the year

Edit The Guardian 11 Apr 2016

Supermarket expected to have continued its strong Christmas trading into the new year. Tesco is expected to reveal its first quarter of underlying sales growth for more than three years when the supermarket reports its full-year results on Wednesday ... Related. Tesco's fictional farms. a marketing strategy past its sell-by date? ... Lewis was parachuted in to lead the business following the sacking of Philip Clarke ... ....

Residents Finally Find Out What Mysterious Object That Dropped Out Of The Sky Actually Was (Photos)

Edit Opposing Views 10 Apr 2016

But the mystery was brought to a close as officials stated that the object was a a package attached to a parachute ... The parachute was undergoing tests, a routine part of industrial development ... "We take it up in a helicopter to about 9000 feet, we drop it and it freefalls, then it goes through a staged opening sequence, the parachute opens and it lands safely," Hamilton-Presgrave said....

UN-chartered plane drops 20 tons of food on besieged Syrian city of Deir Ezzor

Edit The Oslo Times 10 Apr 2016

April 10, Damascus ... Out of 26 pallets loaded with food contained in platforms attached to high altitude parachutes – 22 pallets were collected by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), WFP's partner in the city. WFP is working to find out what happened to the four other pallets ... But technical problems meant some of the pallets missed the drop zone and some were damaged as their parachutes failed to function properly....

UN-chartered plane drops 20 tons of food on besieged city of Deir Ezzor

Edit United Nations 10 Apr 2016

Print ... Out of 26 pallets loaded with food contained in platforms attached to high altitude parachutes – 22 pallets were collected by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), WFP's partner in the city. WFP is working to find out what happened to the four other pallets ... But technical problems meant some of the pallets missed the drop zone and some were damaged as their parachutes failed to function properly ... News Tracker ... Home page ....

Russia's Oldest Paratrooper, WWII Veteran Skydives Aged 91

Edit Sputnik 10 Apr 2016

A 91-year-old Russian WWII veteran parachuted to mark the upcoming Victory Day ... ....

Memorial to honor 82nd Airborne paratroopers who have died during training

Edit Stars and Stripes 10 Apr 2016

Dozens of paratroopers were aboard the C-82 when, according to reports, "a loud, unusual noise" came from the plane's right engine. The soldiers, en route to their drop zone, jumped early that day, Jan. 14, 1949 ... Those who jumped that day reported that in many cases, their parachutes didn't fully open. Many became entangled in trees ... Pfc ... His parachute never completely opened ... Maj ... Maj ... There are victims of parachuting accidents ... ....

Gen. Lloyd Austin ends 41-year Army career

Edit Stars and Stripes 10 Apr 2016

On his dress uniform, he sported the Sky Dragon patch of the 18th Airborne Corps as his combat service identification badge and wore the unit insignia of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment as his distinctive unit insignia ... He returned in 1993 to command the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment and then served as G-3 for the 82nd Airborne Division....

IN THE GOP Krauthammer: The coming train wreck in the GOP

Edit Richmond Times Dispatch 10 Apr 2016

WASHINGTON ... 3 candidate — a distant third who loses 55 of 56 contests — or to parachute in a party unicorn who never entered the race in the first place would be a radical affront to the democratic spirit of the contemporary nominating process. A parachute maneuver might be legal, but it would be perceived as illegitimate and, coming amid the most intense anti-establishment sentiment in memory, imprudent to the point of suicide ... Always....

Cap badges stolen from SAS hero of Iranian Embassy siege returned to family

Edit Belfast Telegraph 10 Apr 2016

Army badges stolen from an SAS hero hailed for his role in ending the Iranian Embassy siege have been returned to his family. The SAS and Parachute Regiment cap badges belonged to John McAleese and were stolen during a burglary at his home. Share Go To. Mr McAleese was part of the team which helped end the six-day siege after a group of six armed men stormed the embassy in London in 1980 and took 26 people hostage ... She said ... He said....

SpaceX's Dragon arrives at ISS with inflatable space habitat

Edit Xinhua 10 Apr 2016

The spacecraft was successfully captured at 7.23 a.m. EDT (1123 GMT) by European astronaut Tim Peake, using the orbiting lab's robotic arm, with help from U.S ... Another U.S ... Dragon will remain connected to the ISS until May 11, when it will depart for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of California, bringing almost 3,500 pounds (1,600 kilograms) of science, hardware and spacewalking tools back to Earth for further study ... ....

How Not to Audit the Pentagon

Edit Huffington Post 10 Apr 2016

... everything from closing down factories to subsidizing golden parachutes for displaced executives and board members. At the time, Vermont Congressman Bernie Sanders aptly dubbed the process “payoffs for layoffs,” as executives of defense firms received healthy payouts while laid-off workers were largely left to fend for themselves....

Army parachute team set for Minot base open house, air show

Edit The Roanoke Times 09 Apr 2016

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — A Minot Air Force Base open house and air show is scheduled to have the Golden Knights U.S. Army parachute team and the U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper Demonstration Team ... ....

Parachute Filmography