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A parachute system, designed to carry an instrument-laden probe down through the dense atmosphere of torrid, cloud-shrouded Venus, was tested in KSC's Vehicle Assembly Building. The tests are in preparation for a Pioneer multi-probe mission to Venus scheduled for launch from KSC in 1978. Full-scale (12-foot diameter) parachutes with simulated pressure vessels weighing up to 45 pounds were dropped from heights of up to 450 feet tot he floor of the VAB where the impact was cushioned by a honeycomb cardboard impact arrestor. The VAB offers an ideal, wind-free testing facility at no additional construction cost and was used for similar tests of the parachute system for the twin Viking spacecraft scheduled for launch toward Mars in August.