Word: parafoil
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...returning portion of the spacecraft is about the size of a truck tire and weighs 450 lbs. When it hits the atmosphere on Sept. 8, it will be traveling at a searing 24,700 m.p.h. Even after it unfurls its parachute-like parafoil and begins coasting toward the Utah desert, it will be heading for a thudding 22m.p.h. touchdown, enough to damage the collector plates, particularly if the ship has already been dinged by micrometeorites. An ocean splashdown would cause only a marginally smaller bump and would present a further risk of water contamination...
...crew will be waiting in the air, giving chase at about 9,500 ft. in a Eurocopter A-star chopper. When they reach the falling probe, they will use a 20-ft. catch pole with a latching hook on the end to snag the parafoil. The hook will then detach from the pole, although it will still be connected by a cable. At that point a pyrotechnic blast will fire a pin across the mouth of the hook, sealing it around the cable; finally, a winch will spool the cable out a bit, reducing the jolt on the helicopter...
AERIAL DELIVERY Dropped from aircraft as far as 25 mi. (40 km) away, batwing-like parafoil gliders will guide troops and supplies for precise landings into designated drop zones...
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