Posted on 04/15/2015 5:06:04 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
Here is the video:
SpaceX CRS-6 First Stage Landing
Seems like an overcomplication to me.
We landed a rover on mars by lowering it from hovering rockets and it was pulled off by onboard computers.
Looked to be a little to much wind. I suspect the next try will succeed.
Quite a surreal bit of video there.
The booster seemed much closer to the camera until the moment it lowered onto the platform.
You could see the jets trying to compensate, but it just wasn’t enough.
The rocking motion coming in was rather signification IMO.
Came pretty close none the less it seemed.
two chances to get blown up - great
This part of the flight will never have a human near it.
Same with launches.
/johnny
Dang. That blowed up real good didn’t it?
I watched for this yesterday but didn’t have time to wait.
It is an interesting idea that does not seem to hold much prospect because of vessel motion.
Absolutely!
I think it's wonderful they're trying, much less got this close. That thing looked pretty stable coming in.
Maybe they just need some big drones to tether it as it's coming down. 3D tugboats. ;-)
Why try to land on a moving, unstable platform at sea?
Sure seems to me that the attempt would be much more successful if SpaceX would just put a drogue chute on the thing to bleed off most of the speed, then let the rocket motor just deal with the last few feet per second.
Fewer houses to blow up if you miss.
Seems like they had at least a little fuel left?
I was thinking Damn!
Even if its on its side, they still got it.........BOOM!
Parachute ‘em into the sea. Auto inflate buoyancy, activate lighting/tracking.
Go get ‘em.
The landing platform needs to be downrange of the launch point - else you need a LOT of fuel to stop the first stage from going east, turn it back west, aim for the coast, then stop and hover and go down slowly.
My preference? Throwaway ribbon parachute, then a gas-filled balloon to slow the descent waaaaaaay down. That rocket thruster was really cycling all over trying to aim at the landing platform.
Exactly. They should land the first stage on dry land using parachutes to slow and stabilize (as YoYo stated above) and then use the rockets during the final few meters.
This. I though of that after I hit "Post," but it was too late...
I guess as long as the enviro-wackos aren’t giving them grief for polluting the ocean.
Seems like the desert would work just as well without the added expense of the platform
But I’m sure they have good reason
Bigger
Landing
Legs
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