Parachute systems are deployed

Boeing conducted the first in a series of reliability tests of its CST-100 Starliner flight drogue and main parachute system by releasing a long, dart-shaped test vehicle from a C-17 aircraft over Yuma, Arizona.

Two more tests are planned using the dart module, as well as three similar reliability tests using a high fidelity capsule simulator designed to simulate the CST-100 Starliner capsule’s exact shape and mass.

In both the dart and capsule simulator tests, the test spacecraft are released at various altitudes to test the parachute system at different deployment speeds, aerodynamic loads, and or weight demands.

Data collected from each test is fed into computer models to more accurately predict parachute performance and to verify consistency from test to test. Photo credit: NASA