page_title: Rogallo wing
section_title: NASA research
hierarchical_section_title: Rogallo wing / NASA research
caption_attribution_description: English: Rogallo's flexible wing, a parachute alternative for space capsule recovery system (Gemini &amp; Apollo) developed by Francis Rogallo at NASA. NASA file press release,
context_page_description: The Rogallo wing is a flexible type of wing. In 1948, Francis Rogallo, a NASA engineer, and his wife Gertrude Rogallo, invented a self-inflating flexible wing they called the Parawing, also known after them as the "Rogallo Wing" and flexible wing. NASA considered Rogallo's flexible wing as an alternative recovery system for the Mercury and Gemini space capsules, and for possible use in other spacecraft landings, but the idea was dropped from Gemini in 1964 in favor of conventional parachutes.
context_section_description: In the late 1950s and early 1960s, U.S. aerospace manufacturers worked on parachute designs for space capsule recovery.  NASA briefly considered the Rogallo wing to replace the traditional round parachute for the Project Mercury capsule during temporary development problems. Later, the Rogallo wing was the initial choice for the Project Gemini capsule, but development problems ultimately forced its replacement with the parachute.
caption: Rogallo wing considered as a candidate recovery system for the Apollo spacecraft
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