Russia searches for missing “space parachute”

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Scientists have lost an experimental
“space parachute” after it came back to earth in the remote
wilderness of Russia’s Pacific seaboard, news agencies said on
Saturday.

An inflatable, heat-proof cone that deploys on re-entry
into the earth’s atmosphere, scientists hope the device could
offer a better way of bringing cargo and experiments back from
the International Space Station.

It was launched on board a missile from a Russian navy
nuclear submarine on Friday, but trackers lost radio contact as
it floated back to earth.

A search in Russia’s Kamchatka region involving two planes,
two helicopters and 150 people on the ground failed to find the
device and was suspended until Sunday, Itar-Tass news agency
quoted the defense ministry as saying.

Scientists need to recover the device, known as IRDT
Demonstrator 2-R, to assess whether it deployed successfully
and withstood the re-entry, media reports said.

The inflatable parachute is being developed for the
European Space Agency by aerospace and defense firm EADS and a
Russian contractor.

Made out of special heat-resistant fabric, it would do away
with the heavy heat shield and separate parachute system that
have to be fitted onto spacecraft and cargo returning to earth.

Two previous test launches of the system, also in Russia,
have ended in failure.