ballute

thumb|upright=1.5|Ballute-equipped Mark 82 bombs, Mk-82AIRs, being dropped by an American [[F-111 attack aircraft]] A ballute (a portmanteau of balloon and parachute) is a parachute-like braking device optimized for use at high altitudes and supersonic velocities.

The original ballute configuration was invented in 1958 by the Goodyear company. The innovation soon caught the attention of other organisations, including NASA; the agency incorporated ballutes into the escape system of the Gemini spacecraft. It has subsequently seen extensive use within the aerospace sector as a means of retarding the descent of various payloads, such as sections of rockets and atmospheric probes. Various proposals involving ballutes, such as for deorbiting/recovering low-mass satellites and interplanetary research programmes, have been issued in recent decades.