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?
Kerbal Space Program – How to Determine if Parachute Will Work
kerbal-space-program
Related Solutions
TLDR: Yes, you will lose chutes from version 1.0.1
Kerbal Space Program has an advanced physics engine and while the planets of the Kerbol system are different to the Sol system, the mechanics are similar:
In real life a re-entering spacecraft is hitting air at huge speeds and that is heating the vessel. The chutes undergo huge stresses when deployed - both from aerodynamic pressure and heating. If these stresses are too great, the parachutes could simply tear off.
Version 1.0.1 of KSP brings this real life danger into the Kerbal universe. Now, if you're moving too fast when the chutes deploy, they can be "burned up". Or, even if you're not undergoing heating, the chutes can be destroyed due to aerodynamic pressures.
How can I avoid chute loss?
Not losing parachutes from heating is easy: Don't deploy them when your vessel is burning up. You can tell if the vessel is burning up by looking at it - is it on fire? Don't deploy chutes.
Not losing parachutes from aerodynamic stresses is also easy: Don't deploy (even partially) when you're going fast. How fast is "fast"? I've conducted some tests and it looks like 1000m/s is the magic number. Although it may change depending on atmospheric conditions.
Edit: After version 1.1 chutes can be destroyed going slower than 1000m/s. Look at the chute icon in the staging, it changes colour based on whether it's safe to deploy or not.
You're best bet is to err on the side of safety and use too many. The potential financial loss for chutes ($700 each for radial) is much less than the potential financial loss of your entire ship.
I'd love to be able to give you some simple formula like "Use 1 chute for ever x tons". But there is no simple formula. The complex formula can be calculated using the tool you've linked to.
That said, these are some excellent tips:
- Balance your lander - position your chutes so you land as flat as possible.
- Land on a flat surface - otherwise you could topple over.
- Keep your ships flat - pancakes don't topple over.
- Use modular girders
or i-beams
instead of lander legs
. Modular girders and i-beams have 6x higher impact tolerance (80m/s) than the strongest lander legs (12m/s). You can land a 1000 ton ship on Kerbin with a single chute if it can survive a 80m/s landing. - Fire your rockets prior to landing to slow down your ship.
Good luck.
Related Topic
- Salvage the KSP career with a single launch
- Find location when flying a lander in KSP
- How to tell if re-entry will destroy your ship
- What role does terminal velocity play in a rocket launch
- Parachute activates on launch problem
- Why are parachutes so useless
- Kerbal Space Program – How to Control a Rocket
- Why does the parachute turn red in Kerbal Space Program
Best Answer
The parachute icon will turn red if it is unsafe to deploy. You can also do it by speed but I don't have the exact safe m/s it is to deploy, I think it's around 250 m/s.
Quote from the wiki:
Here is the wiki link with more info on parachutes.