Did they change parachutes in 0.9? They seem to just fall apart now

[kelmv]

I just downloaded 0.9 and started up a new game. However, when I was going through and grabbing the easy science (in this case, making a small hop off the launch pad to grab some data) and I staged my little rocket, I popped the 'chute almost instantly (I think the height I was at was ~650m). However, the 'chute just disappears (the icon turns red like it was ripped off) even when I make sure that I stage is when I'm moving at <10m/s.

What the hell is going on here?

[EtherDragon]

If you pop the parachutes when you are headed up, there is a chance they will vanish when your velocity drops to zero. Try waiting until you're descending to deploy your parachute.

[wasmic]

0.9 is a long time ago. You'll have to find one of the real KSP veterans to answer that, or just go check the change log on the wiki.

[Alshain]

Yeah, the game mechanic on parachutes is to cut them when your craft stops moving. The problem is if your craft changes direction there is a chance for a split second where you aren't technically moving anywhere (zero velocity), so it cuts the chutes.

If your open to mods, the RealChute mod fixes this problem by preventing chutes from opening unless your are going down and also allowing some cutes to remain open on the ground (drag chutes for planes)

[Tex]

What the heck is going on here?

Easy now.

But yes, parachutes only reliably work and don't-disappear when the craft you want to slow is going down. If not, then I would suggest redesigning the parachutes on the craft itself, and if you are using any mod I would recommend trying the parachute out in stock as a control.

[flashcactus]

Parachutes in stock have their problems. They autocut when not moving, even wen you're in the air, have questionable drag and open abruptly, sometimes ripping ships apart. As for your original question, AFAIK the parachute mechanics are the same in .90 as the previous versions.

Anyway, due to these problems, I really recommend RealChutes, which solves all 3 of these problems. The chutes will open only after your craft starts going down. The mod also warns you when deploying them might be unsafe.

You can install it even if you don't want any new parts, it modifies the stock chutes too so they have the same nice properties as described above, so you can delete the ones the mod provides.

[Janos1986]

Ditch the old chutes and turn to RealChutes.

You'll thank us.

[robopilot99]

Make sure you aren't timewarping. If you timewarp through the chute deployment they'll sometimes snap off.

[Azimech]

Or ... edit the part.cfg files for the stock chutes and increase the time they'll use for fully opening, decreasing the shock.

[basic.syntax]

I set up chutes in a couple small groups, and then right-click on them to tweak their opening altitude, to stagger them and reduce shocks on crafts. 500 / 550 / 600 / 650.

If the first chutes to open are attached to a central part that most other things are attached to, its less likely to wrench a craft apart.

[LordFerret]

I find that if I wait until my reentry speed falls below 300m/s, the chutes don't rip the ship apart.