Flight Tests Results from Supersonic Deployment of an 18-Foot Diameter (5.49 meter) Towed Ballute Decelerator

A ram-air-inflated, towed ballute decelerator having a maximum frontal diameter of 18 feet (5.49 meters) was deployed during free flight at a Mach number of 3.15 and a dynamic pressure of 38.5 lb/ft(exp 2) (1843.4 newtons/m(exp 2)). Deployment and extraction of the test ballute were normal but inflation stopped about 1 second after mortar firing and produced an average plateau drag force of 1500 pounds (6.7 kN) for about 1 second. Approximately 30 percent of expected total frontal area was obtained.