Rostec's Parachute System Brings the World's First “Film Crew” Back Home From Orbit

Rostec's Parachute System Brings the World's First “Film Crew” Back Home From Orbit

Photo: Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Center / Roscosmos

The lander module of the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft with the world's first “film crew” on board returned from orbit using a parachute system developed by Technodinamika Holding of the State Corporation Rostec. The film crew consisted of actress Yulia Peresild, director Klim Shipenko and cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky. The crew returned from a 12-day expedition to the ISS undertaken with the mission of shooting an episode of the film “The Challenge” (“Vyzov” in Russian). 

A space parachute is a multi-cascade system of several consecutively deployed parachute domes. The first one is an extraction dome designed to open the main dome. The second one is a system of braking domes. They stabilize the descent and reduce speed for the opening of the third parachute — the main one. In addition, the system includes a 590-square-meter emergency dome. 

“Our parachute systems are among the most reliable ones in the world. The domes are made of a high-tech lightweight synthetic material capable of withstanding temperatures up to 300 °C without losing its functional properties. Such temperatures occur during the ship’s descend through the dense layers of the atmosphere. The total area of the parachute system is 1,000 square meters. It is remarkable that a new three-dome landing system for the prospective Oryol spacecraft is currently under development. Its area will be 3.6 thousand square meters, it will be able to land vehicles weighing up to 9 tons from a height of 4.5 thousand meters,” Rostec's Aviation Cluster spokesperson said. 

The parachute system was developed by Technodinamika's Scientific Research Institute of Parachute Construction. During its history, the company has created more than 5 thousand types of parachute equipment and put more than 1 thousand models into mass production. 

"The products that we have been creating for the space industry for more than 60 years traditionally show high reliability and fail-safe operation. The parachute systems of Scientific Research Institute of Parachute Construction returned the world's first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin to Earth, and now they have successfully brought home the lander module with the first-ever movie expedition. The landing went smoothly," commented Igor Nasenkov, Chief Executive Officer of Technodinamika Holding.