Timeline

Leslie Irvin makes the first free fall parachute descent; the Irving Airchute Company is formed in Buffalo, NY.

Leslie Irvin forms “Caterpillar Club” for airmen saved by a parachute.

Leslie Irvin opens a factory dedicated solely to the production of Irvin parachutes in Buffalo, NY.

Irvin and GQ collaborate to produce the X-type Paratroop Parachute Assembly. This assembly, is used throughout WWII and for 20 years beyond.

Martin-Baker, in collaboration with Irvin, develops the first autonomous pilot seat ejection system.

First aerial recovery of a space capsule launched from an orbiting satellite (Discoverer 13) uses an Irvin parachute recovery system.

Landing brake-parachute is developed by Irvin for SR-71.

Irvin’s first mortar deployed Spin/Stall Parachute Recovery System is used on DC-9 development aircraft.

Irvin develops and qualifies parachute system for the NASA Pioneer Venus program.

Irvin flight termination and mid-air recovery system is used on the Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM).

Peter Hearn publishes “Sky High Irvin, The Story of a Parachute Pioneer”, a book recounting Irvin’s contributions to the parachute industry.

Space Shuttle Endeavor successfully lands using an Irvin brake-parachute

Irvin designs and tests 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, and refurbishment and reuse.

World-record largest parachute cluster flight for the Kistler K-1 development using six 156 ft ringsail parachutes.

F-22 development aircraft successfully conducts flight tests with Irvin’s Spin/Stall Parachute Recovery System.

British investment group, Alchemy Partners, purchases Irvin – putting Irvin, Para-Flite, and GQ Parachutes under the same umbrella, later known as Airborne Systems.

NASA Pad Abort Demonstrator program flies four 156 ft diameter ringsail cluster – recovery system test, demonstrating technology for a future manned spacecraft crew.

Airborne Systems hosts the first Airborne Days in Eloy, Arizona

Space X – Airborne Systems develops the parachute recovery system for first stage recovery of Falcon I commercial launch vehicle for low cost transport of satellites to low earth orbit.

Airborne Systems is awarded development of parachute program for NASA Orion spacecraft replacing the space shuttle in 2010.

Airborne Systems competed and won the design competition for the MC-6 as the replacement for MC-1 for the U.S. Army. Airborne Systems was one of four suppliers awarded a 5 year IDIQ contract in 2006 for the MC-6.

U.S. Army Selects Airborne Systems DragonFly^® and FireFly^® Systems for self-guided parachutes.

Successful test of the “GigaFly” sets the world record for the largest ram-air canopy carrying the heaviest weight ever flown (40,000 lb).

10,000th unit produced of the T-11 systems replacing the U.S. Army legacy T-10.

U.S. Army selects the Intruder^® system to replace the legacy MC-4/MC-5

Space X – Dragon spacecraft recovery from first commercial flight docking on the International Space Station.

IRVE-3 successful inflatable heat shield test

Boeing CST-100 successful drop test

Blue Origin successful first flight

The United States Marine Corps selects the Edge Multi-Mission Parachute System as their replacement for their legacy system.

Leslie Irvin is inducted into the Skydiving Hall of Fame

Airborne Systems celebrates their 100 year anniversary as the number one military parachute company in the world.

Dare Mighty Things.

Mars Perseverance Rover safely lands on the surface of Mars using a parachute designed and manufactured by Airborne Systems.

Here at Airborne Systems we couldn’t be more proud to have played a part in this amazing feat for humankind. The Mars 2020 parachute is 70.5 feet (21.5 meters) in diameter, deploys about 240 seconds after atmospheric entry, at an altitude of about 7 miles (11 kilometers) and a velocity of about 940 mph (1,512 kph). The parachute, weighing approximately 180 pounds, was mortar deployed from the back of the aeroshell and inflated in less than a second.

NASA launches Artemis 1 with the Orion capsule for moon and deep space missions containing 11 parachutes designed and manufactured by Airborne Systems to assist with a gentle landing upon its return to earth.

NASA LOFTID program recently demonstrated technology using Airborne Systems’ inflatable hypersonic decelerator that withstood re-entry back to earth, with application for future Mars missions.

USMC awards Airborne Systems a multi-year contract to train approx. 400 Military Free Fall Parachutists a year for the next 5 years.

Airborne Systems returns with Airborne Days VIII after a 4-year hiatus.

Varda’s 1st Winnebago capsule returns to Earth February 2024. Airborne Systems engineered and manufactured the parachute recovery system for the Winnebago (W-Series) reentry capsules. Airborne Systems has continued to support subsequent Winnebago missions, providing the parachute recovery systems for each capsule’s return to Earth.

The Missile Defense Agency successfully employed an MRBM air launched target during the FTX-40 mission. 

MDA News Release

Another successful Crew Dragon returns, including 2 members from the 2024 Starliner mission. May 2025 marks the 15th successful return of a SpaceX Dragon with humans on board, that’s 58 total humans.

Airborne Systems supports NS-32, the 12th human spaceflight and 32nd flight for Blue Origin’s New Shepard program. Blue Origin has flown 64 people into space as of May 2025 and Airborne Systems has successfully returned those 64 people from space.

Airborne Systems led the first-ever full-scale parachute drop test for NASA’s Dragonfly mission on February 11, 2026, in Eloy, Arizona. Conducted in coordination with NASA’s Langley and Ames Research Centers, the test included both drogue and main parachutes, replicating the descent sequence Dragonfly will perform when entering the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan. A second round of design-qualification tests is planned for October ahead of building the flight systems.

More on NASA’s Dragonfly Rotorcraft

Airborne Systems played a key role in the safe return of NASA’s Artemis II crew, whose Orion capsule splashed down off the San Diego coast following the first crewed lunar mission in over fifty years. The eleven-parachute recovery system — initiated at 25,000 feet and culminating in three main parachutes near 6,000 feet — slowed the capsule to approximately 20 mph at splashdown. The milestone adds to Airborne Systems’ legacy of supporting human spaceflight and clears the path for future crewed lunar landings under NASA’s Artemis program.