Steerable Parachute

What is the SPS?

The SPS was the payload to be flown with River Cities Rocket Team, or RCR for short, rocket at the 2023 space port of america. The rocket was developed with the Steerable Parachute system, or sps, in mind to deploy it at 10,000ft. From there the SPS would receive a GPS lock and guide itself to the best of its ability to the desired coordinates. It achieved this by pull and pushing a set of strings connected to a cruciform parachute.

Pulling down on the left side and raising up on hte right allowed for the SPS to guide the payload in a specific direction. By using a combination of both sets of lines you could get any heading desired by pulling one set and releasing another at varying amounts.