Space Parachute Launch Postponed

A test launch of a space parachute developed by Russian scientists has been put off until next spring, local media reported Friday.

Lidia Avdeeva, a spokeswoman for the Lavochkin production and science association, told the Russian Itar-Tass news agency the launch of a new inflatable deceleration device, called Demonstrator-2R, which had been planned for December, was postponed because engineers determined additional tests would be necessary to increase launch reliability.

Also, climatic conditions on Kamchatka, Russia’s peninsula in the Okhotsk Sea where the device is to land, would complicate the search process at this time, Avdeeva said.

Demonstrator-2R will be delivered on its trajectory by a ballistic missile fired from a Russians submarine in the Barents Sea, the agency said.

The customers of the postponed demonstration testing are the European Space Agency and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company.

If successful, the device can be delivered to the International Space Station and used for bringing cargoes to the Earth or for evacuation of ISS crews.

Three previous launches of the Demonstrator proved unsuccessful, Itar-Tass reported.