Parachute Museum tells the story of development of the free fall parachute from invention at McCook Field up to the role it plays in landing todays spacecraft.
This design was deemed “stable”, I.e., less prone to swinging like a pendulum during descent or while decelerating payload. Per frame “e” below, it generates a stronger restoring moment whenever tilted. Figure from T. Knacke’s “Parachute recovery systems design manual”. 2/5. 