Orion’s parachute system is designed to ensure a safe landing for

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ORION’S

PARACHUTE

SYSTEM

Orion’s parachute system is designed to ensure a safe landing for 

astronauts returning to Earth in the crew module at speeds exceeding 

25,000 mph from deep-space missions. This system is critical for the 

safe return of Orion’s future crews who will travel beyond the moon to 

explore an asteroid and other planetary bodies throughout our solar 

system, including Mars. While the Earth’s atmosphere will initially slow 

the spacecraft down from 20,000 mph to 325 mph, the parachutes are 

needed to get to a safe landing speed of 20 mph or less.

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3

Forward Bay Cover Parachutes are used 

in conjunction with pyrotechnic thrusters 

to ensure separation of the Forward Bay 

Cover (FBC), which protects Orion and its 

parachutes during the heat of reentry.

7 feet in diameter and 8 lbs. each, 100% Kevlar 

material (approximately 38 cubic feet) 

Each FBC Parachute is approximately 100 feet 

long from the FBC attachment to the crown 

(top) when inflated

Deployed at 26,500 feet in altitude and a vehicle 

speed of 475 feet per second (324 mph)

Main Parachutes are used to slow the 

crew module for landing to a speed that 

ensures astronaut safety.

116 feet in diameter and 310 lbs. each, Kevlar/

Nylon hybrid material (over 10,500 square feet) 

Main Parachutes are deployed (lifted) from the 

Crew Module Forward Bay by Pilot Parachutes 

 

Each Main Parachute is approximately 265 feet 

long from the crew module attachment to the 

crown (top) when inflated

 

11

Orion’s parachute 

system consists of a 

total of 11 parachutes

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3

3

Drogue Parachutes are used to slow and 

stabilize the crew module during descent 

and establish proper conditions for Main 

Parachute deployment to follow.

23 feet in diameter and 80 lbs. each, Kevlar/Ny-

lon hybrid material (approximate 400 square feet)

Each Drogue Parachute is approximately 100 feet 

long from the crew module attachment to the 

crown (top) when inflated

Deployed at 25,000 feet in altitude and a vehicle 

speed of 450 feet per second (307 mph)

Pilot Parachutes are used to lift and 

deploy the Main Parachutes from the 

Crew Module Forward Bay.

11 feet in diameter and 11 lbs. each, Kevlar/Nylon 

hybrid material (approximately 95 square feet)

Deployed at 9,500 feet in altitude and a vehicle 

speed of 190 feet per second (130 mph)

Deployed at 9,000 feet 

in altitude and a vehicle 

speed of 130 mph, the 

Main Parachutes will slow 

the crew module to a 

landing speed of 17 mph.

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1

2

4

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Orion’s parachute system was designed with crew 

safety in mind: it can withstand the failure of either 

one drogue or one main parachute, and it can ensure 

a secure landing in an emergency, as witnessed during 

the successful 2010 Pad Abort 1 flight test.  Before 

the crew actually flies in the spacecraft, the system 

will undergo additional tests to validate the design and 

demonstrate repeatability.   

The parachute system is developed and tested by NASA 

and the agency’s contractor partners.  Parachutes are 

designed and fabricated by Airborne Systems in Santa 

Ana, California; the mortars are provided through 

Lockheed Martin by General Dynamics Ordinance 

& Tactical Systems, located in Seattle; and project 

management is performed by Jacobs Engineering’s 

Engineering Science Contract Group in Houston. 

 

Parachute system testing is performed at the U.S. Army 

Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona.  

Wind tunnel testing

Drop test in Yuma, Arizona

Return from space

Pad Abort flight test

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All three of Orion’s Main 

Parachutes combined 

would cover a football 

field from 10 yard line  

to 10 yard line.

Orion’s Forward Bay Cover, Drogue and Main 

Parachutes are packed with a hydraulic press to the 

density of oak.

Main parachute nylon broadcoth (what is typically 

thought of as “silk” in parachutes) has a mass that ranges 

from 1.2 to 2.0 ounces per square yard. The broadcloth 

required to cover the floor in a typical home would weigh 

roughly 25 lbs. Main parachute nylon broadcloth is so 

thin that you can actually see through it. 

Suspension line testing at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas

The suspension lines on three Main Parachutes 

combined are approximately 10 miles in length.

Each drogue suspension line is rated to carry at 

least 5,000 lbs. That’s strong enough to lift most 

passenger cars. Each drogue parachute has 24 of 

those suspension lines.

Each main suspension line is rated to carry at least 

1,500 lbs. That’s strong enough to hold six adults with 

some margin to spare. Each main parachute has 80 of 

those suspension lines.

Parachute test vehicle loaded on plane ahead of drop test in Yuma, Arizona

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

www.nasa.gov