Our Heritage

OUR Heritage

Founded in 2002, Vorticity has grown into a leading aerospace systems engineering consultancy. For more than twenty years, we’ve honed deep expertise in entry, descent, and landing technologies through our work on flagship missions.

Our rich space heritage began with the Huygens mission to Titan, the most distant landing in history.
Since then, we have advanced planetary exploration through landmark projects, including designing and qualifying the record-breaking ExoMars parachute system.
Today, our expertise continues to push new frontiers, from contributing to NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly mission to the next generation of exploration projects featured below.
Our rich space heritage began with the Huygens mission to Titan, the most distant landing in history.

Since then, we have advanced planetary exploration through landmark projects, including designing and qualifying the record-breaking ExoMars parachute system.

Today, our expertise continues to push new frontiers, from contributing to NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly mission to the next generation of exploration projects featured below.

Huygens

ExoMARs

Publications

All Case Studies

Huygens

ExoMARs

Publications

All Case Studies

hUYGENS

hUYGENS

hUYGENS

Vorticity founders designed the 3-stage Parachute Descent System that landed ESA's probe on Saturn's moon, Titan, in 2005.

Our team were responsible for the design and qualification of the parachutes, deployment mortar, inter-stage pyrotechnic release mechanisms, swivels, and parachute packing and containment system.

HUYGENS PROBE IN THE WIND TUNNEL

HUYGENS PROBE IN THE WIND TUNNEL

(PRE-PARACHUTE DEPLOYMENT)

(PRE-PARACHUTE DEPLOYMENT)

DROP TESTING

DROP TESTING

DROP TESTING

sWIVEL

sWIVEL

sWIVEL

PARACHUTE CONTAINER

PARACHUTE CONTAINER

Deployment Mortar Assembly

EXOMARS

EXOMARS

EXOMARS

Vorticity has developed, tested, and validated parachute systems for Europe's Mars landing missions (Schiaparelli and Rosalind Franklin Mission).

Our team were responsible for the design and qualification of the four parachutes and two deployment mortars.

dEPLOYMENT AND iNFLATION OF sUPERSONIC pARACHUTE

dEPLOYMENT AND iNFLATION OF sUPERSONIC pARACHUTE

Extraction rig, JPL

Extraction rig, JPL

Parachute test vehicle on launch crane

Parachute test vehicle on launch crane

test vehicle under helium balloon

test vehicle under helium balloon

recovering test vehicle, 2025

recovering test vehicle, 2025

OUR PUBLICATIONS

Books

2026

2025

2023

2022

2021

2019

2017

2015

2012 or earlier

The ExoMars RFM Parachute System

AIAA-2026-3817. J.C. Underwood, A. Saunders, J.S. Lingard & L. Ferracina, 28th AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems Technology Conference, London, UK, 2026

Transient CFD Simulation of Parachutes in the ExoMars Entry Module Wake

AIAA-2026-3824. T.J. Hancock, M. Gramola, J.C. Underwood, J.S. Lingard & L. Ferracina, 28th AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems Technology Conference, London, UK, 2026

Precision Targeting for Parachute Drop Tests from High-Altitude Balloons

AIAA-2026-3837. T.J. Hancock, J.C. Underwood, J. Lynch, O. Cohen & S. Schuster, 28th AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems Technology Conference, London, UK, 2026

Developing and Testing Miniature Suspension Line Inflation Load Sensors

AIAA-2026-3848. A. Saunders, J.C. Underwood, J. Lynch, S. Verma, S. Doran, O. Cohen & S. Schuster, 28th AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems Technology Conference, London, UK, 2026

High-Altitude Balloon Testing of the ExoMars Parachute System

J. Lynch, A. Saunders, J.C. Underwood, J.S. Rodgers, S.J. Overend, D. Leblue & L. Ferracina, 27th ESA Symposium on European Rocket and Balloon Programmes and Related Research, Trondheim, Norway 2026

Precision Targeting for Parachute Drop Tests From High-Altitude Balloons

J. Lynch, T.J. Hancock, J.C. Underwood, O. Cohen & S. Schuster, 27th ESA Symposium on European Rocket and Balloon Programmes and Related Research, Trondheim, Norway 2026

The ExoMars RFM Parachute System

T.J. Hancock, J.C. Underwood, A. Saunders, J.S. Lingard & L. Ferracina, 23rd International Planetary Probe Workshop, Washington DC, USA, 2026

Leveraging Titan Engineering Heritage: Adapting the Huygens Parachute Swivel for Dragonfly

J.S. Rodgers, A. Saunders, J.C. Underwood, J.S. Lingard, A. Azarbarzin, R. Lorenz & J. Mayo, 23rd International Planetary Probe Workshop, Washington DC, USA, 2026A, 2026