A ballute (a portmanteau combining "balloon" and "parachute") was invented by Goodyear in 1958. It is a parachute braking device that is optimized for use at high altitudes and high supersonic velocities. The original ballute was a cone-shaped balloon with a toroidal burble fence fitted around its widest point. The burble fence is an inflated toroidal structure on a ballute intended to ensure flow separation[1]. This stablizes the ballute as it deccelerates through different flow regimes (from supersonic to subsonic).
The ballute is either inflated by a gas generator, or by air forced into the structure by ram air inlets.
Ballutes have also been proposed in toroidal form.
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The ballute has been used as a retarding device for freefall bombs dropped from aircraft.
It was used as part of the escape equipment for the Gemini spacecraft. It has been proposed for use during aerocapture and aerobraking.[2]
Ballutes are seen in the film 2010. They are used by the spaceship Alexei Leonov for an aerobraking manoeuvre around the planet Jupiter to enter orbit about the moon Io.
In the animated Gundam series, ballutes are used for ships or mobile suits to re-enter Earth's atmosphere.