Emergency Parachutes, HOW DO I DO IT???

[Quantum Jim]

So.... I made an experimental spaceplane. It launched ok. It docked ok. It didn't have enough fuel to reach KSC's latitude, but it was able to start decent ok. Then while decelerating in the atmosphere, the "emergency" parachutes deployed:

So when it got down, we had this:

FAIL. How do I design the ship so the parachutes don't deploy except in an emergency?

Edited August 14, 2013 by Quantum Jim

[dave4002000]

Put only the parachutes in 'Stage 0'. They will only open after you activate the stage.

[Read have Read]

Put only the parachutes in 'Stage 0'. They will only open after you activate the stage.

Aye! and make sure you do not have Auto-stage enabled in Ascent Guidance or Utilities windows of Mechjeb. It has been known to prematurely deploy stages.

[Quantum Jim]

Thank you, your tips worked great! I still didn't figure out how to land on the runway yet, but at least it survives in one piece now!

[flamingmonkey46]

Use the action groups