Make: High-Power Rockets

Chapter 8. Dual Deploy with a Drogue and Main Parachute

We looked at one method for dual deployment in Chapter 7. Here we’ll look at a second method that uses two parachute bays. A small parachute called the drogue parachute ejects at apogee, slowing the rocket down a bit but still letting it fall fairly fast. The idea is to keep the rocket’s speed low enough that the main parachute will not tear when it snaps open. The main parachute deploys at a lower altitude to slow the rocket for landing.

What Will You Need

Unlike the cable cutter method described in Chapter 7, this method requires a rocket specially built for dual deployment. Both Phobos and Deimos can be adapted for this method. While one uses fiberglass parts and the other uses paper, ...