Chris,
Ballistic chutes have been successfully deployed as low as 300 feet and BRS claims 386 lives saved, so far! Deployment requires 35 pound pull on the "little red handle", which fires the rocket hooked to a long sleeve with the parachute inside. Rocket and sleeve completely separate, leaving chute with a slider ring up near the fabric. Chute only partially fills at first, then the slider drops and allowes full deployment..........thus preventing chute failure from high speed deployment. My BRS 1050 system is good for 1050 G/W and 130mph at deployment.
JJ