How can I tell if my parachute will work?

How can I tell if my parachute will work? - Book On A White Wooden Table

In a recent (relatively, stopped playing for a while) update of KSP, drag is much more of an issue now. Prior to this update, the staging icon (the orange icon to the left of the screen while in flight) of the parachute would turn red only of the chute was destroyed in-flight for some reason. Now, it turns red if it is unsafe to deploy, OR if it's been destroyed. I had a rough take off, where I thought I was in thin enough air to prevent significant drag, but it turns out I wasn't, and my parachute icon turned red. Shortly after this, I achieved a successful orbit, and my craft is moving quite fast (as normal in orbit), so my parachute icon is still red. Even though I've seen this before on a good parachute (where the iron is red because of my speed), I'm not convinced that the chute is good enough to bring poor Jebidiah back home safely once I de-orbit. I don't have an engineer (nor can I EVA yet) to repack the chute in space if were to test it, so is there any other way I can tell if the chute is still good, and will be deployable later in the Kerbin atmosphere?

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Best Answer

Actually it should be as simple as checking whether there's a button 'Disarm Chute' in parachute context menu.

  • If you can disarm it, then you can (and should) disarm it in-orbit and then arm it after de-orbit burn when you get down to subsonic speeds.
  • If your chute is armed & deployed (no disarm button) then it will definitely be destroyed by 'aerodynamic forces and heat' during re-entry.


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Quick Answer about "How can I tell if my parachute will work?"

  • Tandem Skydivers must open parachutes by 4,500AGL (Though, most open around 5,000-5,500 to allow you to enjoy the view)
  • Students and A License holders must open their parachutes by 3,000 feet AGL.
  • B-License jumpers must open their parachutes by 2,500 feet AGL.


    • What are the chances of your parachute not working?

    How often do parachutes fail?! The answer: Hardly ever. According to the USPA (which collects and publishes skydiving accident statistics), about one in every one-thousand parachutes will experience a malfunction so significant that actually requires the use of the reserve parachute.

    How long does it take for a parachute to activate?

    After approximately 45 seconds of freefall, your tandem instructor will signal to you that it's time to pull the parachute. The sequence of the parachute opening happens at a slow enough pace that you don't have to worry about experiencing any kind of whiplash.

    How high do you need to be for a parachute to work?

    Within those Basic Safety Requirements, the USPA breaks down the minimum opening altitudes by license level. For new A-license holders, that's 3,000\u2032 above the ground; for slightly more experienced B-license holders, 2,500\u2032.

    Why does my parachute not deploy?

    The parachute has a "Min Pressure" setting which you can adjust by right-clicking on it. The parachute won't open unless the atmospheric pressure is higher than this.


    How Does a Skydive Parachute Work?



    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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