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Milestones
 
 



For almost a century, no other company has compiled a proven track record and precedent setting milestones that demonstrate scope of capability, quality of product and successful performance.

1919 Leslie Irvin makes the first freefall parachute descent; Irvin Airchute Company is formed.

1922 Leslie Irvin forms the “Caterpillar Club” for airmen saved by a parachute.
1933 Irvin Parachute officially adopted by 37 air forces worldwide.
1944 D-Day, the largest liberation force in human history is launched with the Allied airborne forces using Irvin designed parachutes.
1960 First aerial recovery of a space capsule launched from an orbiting satellite (Discoverer 13) uses an Irvin parachute recovery system.
1963 Landing brake-parachute developed by Irvin for SR-71.
1965 Irvin’s first mortar deployed Spin/Stall Parachute Recovery System used on DC9 development aircraft.
1976 Goodyear, in collaboration with Irvin, used a parachute decelerator system to safely land the Viking spacecraft on Mars.
1978 Irvin flight termination & mid-air recovery system used on the Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM).
1991 Space Shuttle Endeavor successfully lands using an Irvin brake-parachute.
1996 Irvin designed and tested a cluster of 3 Ringsail parachutes to recover the Boeing EELV concept’s 20,000 lb. propulsion module demonstrating the technology to successfully return the first stage rocket engine to a water landing for subsequent recovery, refurbishment and re-use.
1998 World-record largest parachute cluster flight for the Kistler K-1 development. Irvin advanced the state-of-the-art of large spacecraft recovery systems.
1999 F-22 development aircraft successfully conducts flight tests with Irvin’s self-monitoring, pilot-actuated Spin/Stall Parachute Recovery System.
2003 NASA Pad Abort Demonstrator program flies 156ft diameter Ringsail cluster—recovery system test, demonstrating technology for a future manned spacecraft crew.
2004 Cassini-Huygens mission—Titan moon of Saturn exploration. Irvin provided parachute design and manufactured the parachute system.
2005 SpaceX - Irvin developed the parachute recovery system for 1st stage recovery of Falcon I commercial launch vehicle for low cost transport of satellites to low earth orbit.

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