Parachute

A parachute is a soft fabric device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Parachutes are generally used to slow the descent of a person or object to Earth or another celestial body with an atmosphere. Parachutes are also sometimes used to aid horizontal deceleration of a vehicle (an airplane or space shuttle after touchdown, or a drag racer). The word parachute comes from the French words para, protect or shield, and chute, to fall. Therefore parachute actually means to protect from a fall. Many types of modern parachute are quite maneuverable, and can be flown like gliders.

Uses

Paratroopers are soldiers who arrive in enemy territory by parachutes.

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Smokejumpers are firefighters who parachute into remote areas to build firebreaks.

Related Topics:
Smokejumper - Firefighter

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Most space vehicles descend to Earth using several parachutes. The pair of reusable solid-fuel rocket boosters (SRB) of the Space Shuttle have parachutes; they are recovered after falling to the ocean. Some exploration rovers (such as NASA's Spirit and ESA's Beagle 2) descend to their target destination with parachutes.

Related Topics:
Solid-fuel rocket boosters - Space Shuttle - NASA - Spirit - ESA - Beagle 2

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Some bombs are equipped with a parachute, for example some daisy cutters and the bomblets of some cluster bombs. Parachutes slow-down the descent of the bomb (especially airburst nuclear weapons, which explode some distance from the ground) thus delaying detonation and giving the dropping aircraft time to get to a safe distance from the explosion.

Related Topics:
Bomb - Daisy cutter - Cluster bomb

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Food aid packages are sometimes delivered by parachute.

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Parachutes can also be deployed from a jet aircraft horizontally from the tail cone at the point of touchdown or shortly afterwards to shorten its landing run, for example if landing on an aircraft carrier or with a tailwind, or on a relatively short runway. The parachute will normally be jettisoned after the aircraft has slowed to taxiing speed and then retrieved by ground crew. This technique reduces the chance of it becoming entangled with the airframe once it has ceased to be deployed in its functional, hemispherical shape. A similar parachute called a drogue parachute is used to slow drag racers, and the Space Shuttle after its runway touchdown.

Related Topics:
Aircraft carrier - Drogue - Drag racers - Space Shuttle

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Jet fighter ejector seats are equipped with automatically deployed parachutes.

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Parachuting is a hobby and sport based on human parachute jumps. Paragliding instead uses a parachute as a form of glider.

Related Topics:
Parachuting - Paragliding - Glider

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A paraglider with a motor and possibly wheels is called a powered parachute or, sometimes, a paraplane.

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