Drogue

[Monoglota]

Hi,

I've just read a new about NASA Genesis probe which says:

"It appears that the Genesis sample return capsule's drogue and parafoil did not deploy as expected".

I didn't find the meaning of drogue. What does it mean?

Thanks.

 

[aledu]

Hi,

I've just read a new about NASA Genesis probe which says:

"It appears that the Genesis sample return capsule's drogue and parafoil did not deploy as expected".

I didn't find the meaning of drogue. What does it mean?

Thanks.

drogue
A noun
1 drogue

a funnel-shaped device towed as a target by an airplane

2 windsock, sock, air_sock, wind_sleeve, wind_cone, drogue

a truncated cloth cone mounted on a mast; used (e.g., at airports) to show the direction of the wind

3 sea_anchor, drogue

restraint consisting of a canvas covered frame that floats behind a vessel; prevents drifting or maintains the heading into a wind

4 drogue, drogue_chute, drogue_parachute

a parachute used to decelerate an object that is moving rapidly

 

[dave]

I'd never the word before in my life. However according to the Collins Concise English Dictionary a drogue is, in this context, "a small parachute released during the landing of a spacecraft". Probably not worth committing this one to memory, unless perhaps you're a NASA scientist or an aeronautical engineer!

 

[Monoglota]

Thanks both,

Probably not worth committing this one to memory, unless perhaps you're a NASA scientist or an aeronautical engineer!

Well, I'm not a NASA scientist nor an aeronautical engineer, but by the fact of typing this very words I bet I'll never forget the meaning of "drogue"!

Saludos.

 

[aledu]

What about ¨parafoil¨?

 

[Monoglota]

What about ¨parafoil¨?

I was assuming parafoil=parachute, but I did some research:

parafoil

a nylon, parachute-like device that can be steered, used especially in kites and paragliders

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/glossary/m-q/parafoil.html