Mercury Main Parachute

Prior to the exhibit's renovation, Mercury spacecraft #19 was displayed with a semi-packed recovery parachute.

The Mercury spacecraft descended on a single parachute (although it also had a reserve 'chute in the case of the main parachute's failure).

I don't believe I've ever seen another Mercury parachute; the closest thing was the Mercury Spacecraft 12B display at Kennedy Space Center.

I did not notice the parachute in the new exhibit.

I was unable to conclusively determine a Smithsonian catalog ID number for this parachute, but the Smithsonian does have a page regarding the same type of parachute.