Aerospace balloon system, parachute, and method of operation
A balloon system including a balloon, a payload, and a safety module. A safety module, preferably including a tether and a parachute, and optionally including a cover and/or a drogue. A method of balloon system operation, preferably including operating the balloon system in flight and descending under a parachute.
1. A balloon system comprising:
a balloon;
a payload;
a tether mechanically connecting the payload to the balloon; and
a parachute module arranged between the payload and the balloon, the parachute module comprising:
a canopy; and
a set of suspension lines mechanically connecting the payload to the canopy;
wherein:
the balloon system is operable in a first configuration in which:
the balloon contains a lighter-than-air fluid;
the payload is suspended from the balloon by the tether; and
the parachute module is in a stowed configuration; and
the balloon system is operable to transition from the first configuration to a second configuration in which:
the balloon contains the lighter-than-air fluid;
the payload is suspended from the balloon by the tether;
the parachute module is in a deployed configuration in which the canopy is substantially open and in which the canopy encircles the tether; and
the payload is suspended from the canopy by the set of suspension lines.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein, in the second configuration:
the parachute module is arranged between the payload and the balloon; and
the canopy is not suspended from the balloon.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the parachute module extends substantially along the tether.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein, in the first configuration, the suspension lines of the set are substantially slack.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tether comprises a ladder configured to resist torsion.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tether is mechanically connected to at least one of the balloon or the payload via a rotary coupling.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the balloon system is further operable to transition from the first configuration to a third configuration in which:
the payload is not mechanically coupled to the balloon;
the parachute module is in the deployed configuration; and
the payload is suspended from the canopy by the set of suspension lines.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the parachute module further comprises a sleeve; and
in the first configuration, the canopy is substantially contained within the sleeve.
9. The system of claim 8 , further comprising a drogue comprising a drogue canopy and a set of drogue lines, wherein:
the tether is mechanically connected to the balloon via the drogue; and
the set of drogue lines is mechanically connected to the sleeve.
10. The system of claim 8 , wherein:
in the first configuration, the sleeve is wrapped around the tether and the parachute module, substantially about a long axis of the tether directed from the balloon to the payload; and
transitioning from the first configuration to the second configuration comprises controlling the sleeve to unwrap.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tether extends through and is captive within the canopy.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the canopy defines a vent, wherein the tether extends through and is captive within the vent.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the parachute module is a toroidal parachute module.
14. A balloon system comprising:
a balloon containing a lighter-than-air fluid;
a tether mechanically connected to the balloon;
a payload suspended from the balloon by the tether; and
a parachute module arranged between the payload and the balloon, the parachute module comprising:
a canopy encircling the tether; and
a set of suspension lines mechanically connecting the payload to the canopy;
wherein:
the parachute module extends substantially along the tether; and
the payload is not suspended from the balloon by the parachute module.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the tether defines a long axis between the balloon and the payload, wherein the tether is configured to resist torsion about the long axis.
16. The system of claim 14 , wherein:
the parachute module further comprises a sleeve; and
in the first configuration, the canopy is substantially contained within the sleeve.
17. The system of claim 14 , further comprising a drogue comprising a drogue canopy and a set of drogue lines, wherein:
the tether is mechanically connected to the balloon via the drogue; and
the set of drogue lines is mechanically connected to the parachute module.
18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the canopy defines a vent, wherein the tether extends through and is captive within the vent.
19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the parachute module is a pull-down apex parachute module.
20. The system of claim 14 , wherein the parachute module is operable to transition to a deployed configuration in which:
the canopy is substantially open; and
the payload is suspended from the canopy by the set of suspension lines.
21. The system of claim 20 , wherein, while the parachute module is in the deployed configuration, the payload is suspended from the balloon by the tether and not by the parachute module.