We’ve been working on determining parachute design requirements over the past several weeks. We want to buy an already made parachute. We considered personnel parachutes, but these don’t slow our rocket down enough. The rocket would land at 7 m/s. This is too high and would result in serious damage. A cluster of 3 personnel parachute is a possible solution, but this would introduce unneeded complexity. So, we were looking for large cargo parachutes. We found several 64 foot diameter parachutes for a reasonable price. They would slow our rocket down to a safe landing speed of 3.6 m/s. The only problem is that they come without the lines. Also, we found an appropriate drogue chute. The next step would be to see how these can be integrated into our design. If everything turns out OK, the parachute and the drogue chute will be bought.
Air brake final drawings have been reviewed and the bill of materials for the air brakes has been finally created. Above is a pic of our air brake design.
