In order to recover the rocket we used a dual deployment recovery system that will be deployed via a single separation point.  This type of recovery minimizes the stresses on the vehicle during parachute deployment as well as minimizes the drift from the launch pad.  In order to reduce the spin of the rocket during descent, a cluster of two drogues and two main parachutes will be used. 

The separation point is where the nosecone meets the airframe and the actual separation occurs at apogee.  Separation is triggered by black powder charges that pressurize the recovery bay.  This effectively pushes the nose cone off of the airframe which pulls out the 18 inch drogue parachutes. The drogue parachutes serve several purposes.  They will allow the rocket to fall at a velocity of 80 feet per second, which will minimize drift.  They also serve to orient the airframe for smooth main parachute deployment.  The last purpose of the drogues is to pull the main parachutes from the airframe for deployment and allow the nosecone to have a soft touchdown.

The drogue parachutes are attached to a release mechanism called a tinder descender.  The tender descender houses a small black powder charge which will be ignited around 1500 feet above the ground.  When the black powder charge is ignited, the risers holding the drogues to the rocket will be released.  This will cause the vehicle to fall away from the drogue parachutes.  The drogue risers are attached to the main parachute deployment bag.  As the rocket falls away, the main parachutes are pulled from their bag and should fully inflate around 1000 feet.  The main parachutes are designed to allow the vehicle to have a final velocity of 20 feet per second.