Firm Founded In 1919 To Design New NASA Parachute

Irvin Aerospace, which calls itself the world's first parachute engineering, design and manufacturing company founded in1919, was selected by Jacobs Sverdrup for NASA to develop parachutes for NASA's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV).

Following the space shuttles retirement in 2010, NASA plans to replace the aging shuttle fleet with a number of reusable Orion spacecraft. Orion is expected to carry crewmembers to the International Space Station, the Moon and beyond.

Working with an integrated product team (IPT) that includes NASA, Jacobs Sverdrup, and engineers from Irvin Aerospace, the design team willdevelop a CEV Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) which is scheduled to begintesting in approximately six months.

Irvin is also working with NASA's Langley Research Center to explore the suitability of a Landing Airbag System for the final landing attenuation for the Orion spacecraft. Irvin was recently awarded a development contract from Rocketplane Kistler under NASA's recent Commercial Orbital Transpiration Services (COTS) program to complete the development of the RpK K-1 vehicle to provide commercial cargo deliver andeventually crew delivery services to the International Space Station.