10.03.15 - Building the Parachute

We build a parachute today following this tutorial we found on YouTube. 

We used this formula to find the diameter we needed to make the parachute. 

D = sqrt( (8 m g) / (p r C_d v²) )

Where:

D is the chute diameter in meters
m is the rocket mass in kilograms
g is the acceleration of gravity = 9.8 m/s2
p is 3.14159265359
r is the density of air = 1.22 kg/m3
Cd is the drag coefficient of the chute, which is 0.75 for a parasheet (flat sheet used for a parachute, like Estes rockets), or 1.5 for a parachute (true dome-shaped chute).

v is the speed we want at impact with the ground (3 m/s or less)

D = √((8* .246*9.81 )/(π(1.225*1.5*3^2 ))

The weight of our CanSat was 246g. 

We subbed in the weight of our CanSat into the formula. 

A diameter of 61cm was needed.

Testing the Parachute:

Let it goooooo...!

As you can see, IT WORKS!