Parachute cord

A 10 ft (3.0 m) coil of commercial parachute cord
The sheath of this commercial parachute cord is braided from 32 strands and the core made up of seven two-ply yarns.
Genuine MIL-SPEC MIL-C-5040 Type III Paracord has 7 inner cords each made up of 3 strands.

Parachute cord (also paracord or 550 cord when referring to type-III paracord) is a lightweight nylon kernmantle rope originally used in the suspension lines of parachutes. This cord is now used as a general purpose utility cord. This versatile cord was used by astronauts during the 82nd Space Shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.[1]

The braided sheath is usually made up of 32 interwoven strands,[2] giving it a relatively smooth texture. The all-nylon construction makes paracord somewhat elastic.

Current technical standards for the manufacture of cord for use in parachutes are published by the Parachute Industry Association. The now inactivated US military standard MIL-C-5040H required the material to be nylon.[3] Similar styles of cord are manufactured with other materials such as polyester.[4]

  1. ^ Nugent, Tom (1997). "Blanketing the Bubble". University of Delaware Messenger. 6 (3). Archived from the original on 26 April 2002.
  2. ^ "Paracord: What is it?". Paracord Planet. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference MIL-C-5040H was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "parachute cord polyester". www.thomasnet.com. Retrieved 3 April 2014.