Posted on 01/16/2016 8:32:03 AM PST by Jack Hydrazine
SpaceX says they could land a capsule on Mars using the same rockets they used for the pad abort test. It would be the same as landing the capsule on land when returning from Earth orbit, which they plan to do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_FXVjf46T8
Well, gravity had a part in there too. In fact, the first stage would have still landed without the rockets firing.
Harry who?
A glide test is one thing, but they really need to get that into orbit.
Reid!
Ideal weather predicted for Falcon 9 launch Sunday
http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/01/16/ideal-weather-predicted-for-falcon-9-launch-sunday/
I think that would be called "a crash" rather than "a landing". But good shot!
Elon Musk described one of their earlier landings as a “rapid unscheduled dissassembly”.
Landing on a barge is hard
SpaceX fails a third time to land its Falcon 9 on a drone ship in the sea
http://news.yahoo.com/spacex-fails-third-time-land-190856751.html
The barge/landing platform I am sure stays steady in the X and Y directions, but it’s the Z (vertical) direction that is the problem. I think the seas out there were about 10 to 13 feet at the time the booster landed. It’s difficult enough for US Navy pilots to land their aircraft on a pitching deck, but imagine trying to land a rocket!
What I have suggested to SpaceX via their youtube channel is to build another platform on top of their current one. Have that upper platform be equipped with hydraulic lifters beneath it that are computer-controlled that can move the deck up to 15 feet or possibly more and stay level. Once they do that their X, Y, and Z axes will all be rock solid still and allow a landing.
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