The soldier felt its sudden drag, and a split second later his main chute deployed.

"The main chute has a one-in-a- thousand chance of not opening," he said.

That doesn't give you much time if your main chute fails to open.

Quickly Blade gathered up the main chute and took off the emergency one.

There's another ripcord on the reserve, if the main chute fails.

The service tunnel opened on to the main chute.

Once clear of the plane a single large main chute opens.

Minuteslater, the second drogue deployed, followed by the main chute.

An alternative method of recovery allowed the drone to reach the ground under the main chute.

So, automatic opening of the main chute frees him of one big job.