Space History Photo: Paresev 1-C Inflatable Wing

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This half-scale test craft was an unstable version of the Gemini parawing. (Image credit: NASA.)

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, the Paresev 1-C is aboard a truck and ready for a 1963 test flight on the ramp at the NASA Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The half-scale version of the inflatable Gemini parawing was pre-flighted by being carried across the Rosamond dry lakebed on the back of a truck before a tow behind an International Harvester Carry-All. The inflatable center spar ran fore and aft and measured 191 inches, two other inflatable spars formed the leading edges. The three compartments were filled with nitrogen under pressure to make them rigid. The Paresev 1-C was very unstable in flight with this configuration.

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