Object Details
Manufacturer
Northrop Ventura
Summary
This is a Gemini ringsail drogue parachute test article with attached pilot chute for pulling it out. Manufactured by Northrop Ventura in 1963, it is made largely of nylon and is 5.6 m (18.3 ft) in diameter when fully deployed. Carried in the Rendezvous and Recovery Section at the front of the capsule, the drogue parachute deployed to stablize the spacecraft before the deployment of the main parachute, which occurred with the separation of the Rendezvous and Recovery Section.
In 1971, McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company in St. Louis transferred many leftover artifacts from the Gemini program to the Smithsonian on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, including this parachute. The former McDonnell Aircraft Corporation had manufactured the Gemini spacecraft.
Credit Line
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through the McDonnell-Douglas Corporation
Inventory Number
A19720500000
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
EQUIPMENT-Parachutes
Materials
Synthetic Fabric, nylon, steel, aluminum, adhesive, ripstop nylon, rubber, Velcro, paint
Dimensions
Approximate (as photographed): 241.3 x 228.6cm (7ft 11in. x 7ft 6in.);
18.3ft. d. open
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nasm_A19720500000