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Watch SpaceX's reusable rocket hover at 3,280 feet before gently landing back to Earth
Between winning an injunction against a rival and proving that its reusable rocket works, it's been a pretty good week for SpaceX. As a victory lap, the company has once-again test fired its Falcon9R rocket, and unlike last time, filmed it from the ground so everyone can see its progress. In the clip (below), the craft launches, hovers at 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) and gently coasts back to the ground for a safe landing. With this early hardware, the landing legs remain out at all times, but… (www.engadget.com) Altro...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Back in 1993, Apollo astronaut Pete Conrad controlled some of the flights of the DC-X, which did the exact same thing AND translated horizontally. We got invited to a launch... check out the video, remembering that it's 1993 quality!
http://youtu.be/Jcetv3KgEYQ
http://youtu.be/Jcetv3KgEYQ
Shades of Willy Ley. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Ley
I think the legs have a coating of an ablative material.
NASA and our space money is paying for this, so how does a payload work with this?
SpaceX is a public funded company. SpaceX has a contract with Nasa to design and build a capsule to transport human cargo to Space Station. This makes NASA a customer.
This is not for a payload, per se. It's to develop experience in landing first stages for when, in an operational launch, there is a second stage and payload stacked on top that continues its ascent to orbit.
I disagree that NASA and taxpayer dollars are paying for it. When Coca Cola buys a big lit-up bottle past the outfield of a major league stadium, is it your money being spent? It's the same principle. NASA, DoD and other SpaceX customers have paid SpaceX to launch payloads on its rockets. Once that launch service has completed, it's SpaceX's money to spend as it sees fit, including engineer and technician labor and RP and LOX to fly hops like this one.
I disagree that NASA and taxpayer dollars are paying for it. When Coca Cola buys a big lit-up bottle past the outfield of a major league stadium, is it your money being spent? It's the same principle. NASA, DoD and other SpaceX customers have paid SpaceX to launch payloads on its rockets. Once that launch service has completed, it's SpaceX's money to spend as it sees fit, including engineer and technician labor and RP and LOX to fly hops like this one.
Very Cool!!