drogue

noun

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\ ˈdrōg

Definition of drogue

1 : sea anchor

2a : a cylindrical or funnel-shaped device towed as a target by an airplane

b : a small parachute for stabilizing or decelerating something (such as an astronaut's capsule) or for pulling a larger parachute out of stowage

3 : a funnel-shaped device which is attached to the end of a long flexible hose suspended from a tanker airplane in flight and into which the probe of another airplane is fitted so as to receive fuel from the tanker

Examples of drogue in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In high speed ejection conditions additional stabilization is provided by a drogue parachute. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "An Ejection Seat Incident Killed Three Russian Bomber Crew Members," 24 Mar. 2021 So the company came up with a plan that would see the rocket reorient with some maneuvering engines before plunging into the atmosphere, slowed by a small drogue parachute. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "RocketLab’s “Return to Sender” launch does exactly what was promised," 20 Nov. 2020 SpaceX also improved part of the capsule’s barometric pressure sensor to give more accurate measurements to help determine when to deploy the spacecraft’s drogue parachutes, which help slow it for splashdown. — Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, "SpaceX launches four astronauts to the International Space Station," 15 Nov. 2020 In another, the company improved a system used to trigger release of stabilizing drogue parachutes during descent to splashdown. — William Harwood, CBS News, "NASA ushering in new era with first operational launch of SpaceX Crew Dragon carrying 4 astronauts," 15 Nov. 2020 The Pave Hawk is one of the few U.S. Air Force aircraft to use the drogue refueling system. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Pilot's Helmet Camera Captures the Not-So-Easy Feat of Refueling a Black Hawk Helo," 3 June 2020 Then, as the drogue chutes slow the capsule to about 119 mph, four main parachutes should deploy at about 6,000 feet. — Christian Davenport, Washington Post, "NASA and SpaceX prepare to bring astronauts home in a perilous splashdown," 1 Aug. 2020 After deploying two drogue parachutes and then the capsule’s main parachutes, the spacecraft landed off the coast of Pensacola, Fla., at 2:48 p.m. EDT. — Fox News, "NASA astronauts splashdown in SpaceX capsule as historic mission returns to Earth," 3 Aug. 2020 Eight minutes later, stabilizing drogue parachutes popped out, followed a minute later by the four main chutes, slowing the ship's descent to a much more sedate 15 mph or so. — William Harwood, CBS News, "SpaceX Crew Dragon astronauts splash down in Gulf of Mexico after historic test flight," 2 Aug. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'drogue.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.