A wonder parachute designed in Russia

A new rescue system allows one to jump even from the top storey of a sky-scraper. The Russian Babakin Center created a new parachute system -Life-saver cone. Originally, the system was designed for Mars investigations: the cone was to help land explorers on the surface. After the Sept.11 tragedy, the Russian inventors understood how the parachute could be used to rescue people during fires and earthquakes.

The director of the center, Konstantin Pichkhadze, said that the parachute would perfectly do for the evacuation of people even through the window of the top storey of a sky-scraper. When packed, the Life-saver looks like a schoolbag. To use the parachute during a fire, put in on your back, sit on the window-sill with your back to the street and pull the ring. In ten seconds, the parachute turns into an air cone-shaped basin and draws the man outside. In the air, the cone resembles a huge badminton shuttlecock.

The material, which is also used for flak jackets, makes Life-saver safe even in the largest fires and protects the “passenger." The parachute lands at the speed of 10 meters per second from any height; it does not take the cone dozens of meters to open like with ordinary parachutes. In addition, the passenger inside the cone is protected from striking against buildings and the land by the air walls of the parachute. No special skills are required for a person to be saved with the Life-saver.

EMERCOM members and firemen think that the idea of the parachute is interesting. Life-savers are to be launched into production within the next six months. The “land version” is to cost several thousands of dollars, and the version developed for space explorations will cost around $10,000.

Translated by Maria Gousseva