Chapter 12. Parachute Recovery of a Water Rocket

Themis with a parachute deployment system.
Figure 12-1. Themis with a parachute deployment system.

Themis, the simple water rocket from Chapter 11, used featherweight recovery. While the rocket wasn’t particularly light, we could get away with featherweight recovery because it was really large for its weight, which increased the rocket’s drag.

As you move forward with water rockets, though, you may want to add an altimeter, a camera, or simply more bottles to get more power and altitude from your rocket. This makes the rocket heavier, making it more likely you will damage the rocket or something it hits if you rely on featherweight recovery. ...

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