Aerodynamic braking and recovery method for a space vehicle

A space vehicle 10 is steered from outer space toward the earth's atmosphere main rocket nozzle end first. An inflatable braking member 28 is deployed around the vehicle 10 by introducing gas into it. The main rocket motor 16 is ignited to produce a substantially throttled stream of gases. This stream provides a cooling layer forwardly of the braking member 28 to protect the member 28 from heating by friction with the atmosphere. The reduction of the velocity of the vehicle 10 is controlled by directly varying the drag of the vehicle 10 to compensate for variations in the density of the atmosphere. The drag is varied by varying the thrust of the motor 16 and/or varying the shape of the member 28. A backup method is to deflate the member 28 in the atmosphere. The member 28 may be jettisoned after the vehicle 10 leaves the atmosphere to enter a low earth orbit.