sef@druco.ATT.COM (FarleighSE) (12/12/90)
The main reason for jettisoning the chutes up on impact is so the chutes will not sink the SRB. A parachute makes a great sea anchor. This can have three effects. First it will increase the drift of the cargo the chute is tied to. Second the drag of the chute can sink the cargo. And third, if the chute does not deflate up on impact the cargo will get one hell of a ride as the wind drives the chute across the water! When I was in the Navy I was a parachute rigger at NAS Pt. Mugu. The base would shoot off BQM-39 target dones over the ocean. The ones that survived the missles were recovered in a way similar to the way the SRB's are recovered. These drones used only one chute, about 80 feet in diameter. I was really fun trying to untangle the mess. Scott E. Farleigh AT&T Bell Labs Denver "Parachute Rigger bury their mistakes!"