Parachute deployment paramaters?????(tears out hair)

[jake264]

Noob here, baffled by my initial success, I can't seem to recreate it.

Whipped up a quick and cheap probe launch vehicle just to mess around and start learning:

OKTO2 pod, 1 RT-10 solid fuel booster, MK16 (I think) chute on top. Fired her up and up she went, deployed the chute way way way too high and took FOREVER to float down , even at 4x warp, but hey it worked. Now, trying to deploy closer to ground, the chute just won't pop, I've tried like a dozen times now. If I accidently pop it on the way up, it comes right out, but not as I'm coming down. What am I missing here.

edit: rocket is stage 1, chute is stage 0

Edited June 21, 2013 by jake264

[bulletrhli]

The mk16 parachute will not open fully until 500m TRUE altitude (can be verified inside a manned cockpit by the radio altimeter). Your parachute will semi deploy at different altitudes depending on the atmosphere. If you look at the ocean blue part of the altitude meter that shows lowest part of atmosphere and so on until the dark grey which represents space. In the second portion to the far right (ocean blue part) it will have a white line connecting to the bottom of the bar, unusually random as it is larger than all the other lines. But, it is the point where your parachute will semi deploy.

[UmbralRaptor]

Chute parameters are here.

It sounds like your probe is running out of electricity on the way down. What does the resource tab say? (Probes need electric power to be controllable)

[jake264]

Yup, it was electricity, great diagnosis UmbralRaptor, thanks!

Edited June 21, 2013 by jake264