Watchung t1_jbpi2sf wrote on March 10, 2023 at 6:49 PM

Reply to comment by Astronics24 in War in space: U.S. officials debating rules for a conflict in orbit by Azurebluenomad

And it doesn't bring up anything of substance about it, just a vague quote.

Watchung OP t1_ja2smlt wrote on February 26, 2023 at 12:30 PM

Reply to The Paravulcoon - a proposed recovery system for the Saturn rocket, using a hot air balloon to safely land the first stage after use by Watchung

The Paravulcoon was one of a multitude of proposed systems to permit recovery of Saturn boosters for reuse, and among the more delightfully eccentric. The scheme seems simple enough - the envelope emerges as a drogue chute, is rammed full of air, and then propane burners heat the air. After this, a controlled descent occurs. If you're especially bold, one can even use helicopters to tow the balloon to a favorable landing zone.

Scale testing of the system was done by the firm Raven, and proposals for use with the Saturn 1 and Saturn V were floated, but in the end nothing came of the project.

Sources:

https://stratospherique.cloud/envelope/1963%20Oberg%20Paravulcoon%20Recovery%20And%20Landing%20System.pdf https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19660027976/downloads/19660027976.pdf https://seattleballooning.com/space-and-balloons/