cls,
yeah, i forgot to put the igniter in the picture which would have helped... sorry.
looking at the second picture, the e-match and small bit of BP go into the last brass fitting on the right. the threaded section holds about .25gr of BP which is held in place with a double layer of Saran Wrap. that gets screwed into the next fitting, which is then screwed into the piece with the big silver washer on it which has inside it the silver piece with the pointy end.
the BP charge ignites, sends to silver pointed piece through the tube, it pops open the Co2 cartridge while letting the BP gas escape through the vent holes which are just visable to the right of the washer (the BP gas is contained in the pvc piece and vented out of the BT), then the Co2 gas pushes the silver plunger piece back which opens vent holes to the left of the washer (can't see them in this picture) that allows the Co2 gas to escape and pressurize the chute compartment. i hope that makes sense...
i did think about using a soleniod to pop open the Co2 but never tested it. one reason is that the current from the deployment controller is very low and would probably not even be sufficient to operate a relay, let alone the solenoid itself. if you can figure out how to boost the current to 9 or 12 volts it might work, but i'm still not sure if a solenoid would have the power to break the seal on the Co2 cartridge - it takes qiute a bit of "oomph" to open it.
leland