Parachutes have been used for the first time to drop supplies to staff at an Australian Antarctic station.
Supply Services Manager of the Australian Antarctic Division, Matt Filipowski said the delivery method was a new capability for the Division.
“Airdrops are routinely used by polar nations, but the addition of these low-cost and precision-guided parachutes is a first for Australia in Antarctica,” Mr Filipowski said.
“We had really good weather conditions and were able to undertake five individual drops onto the ice, with all completed as planned and the loads landing safely,” he said.
Mr Filipowski said the parachutes and supply loads were recovered by a team of expeditioners from the nearby Casey research station.
He said the Low Cost Aerial Delivery System (LCADS) provided a cost-effective means of delivering airdrop cargo to Antarctica.
“The Joint Precision Aerial Delivery System (JPADS) is a GPS-guided system which steers the parachute and provides airdrop delivery with high accuracy.
“The guided parachute is controlled by a machine that guides and pulls on the risers, as the ropes are called, to actually steer the parachute, doing what a human would normally do.
“Remarkably, the precision-guided parachute dropped from 10,000 feet at a speed of 270km/h and landed its cargo of foodstuffs within 30 metres of the target,” he said.
Mr Filipowski said the system had the potential to be used to resupply remote camps, tractor trains on inland traverses, or vessels stranded in sea ice.
