Posted on 04/24/2013 8:12:01 PM PDT by rocky50
Grasshopper is a 10-story Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing (VTVL) vehicle that SpaceX has designed to test the technologies needed to return a rocket back to Earth intact. While most rockets are designed to burn up in the atmosphere during reentry, SpaceX's rockets are being designed to return to the launch pad for a vertical landing.
(Excerpt) Read more at uvideo100.com ...
Unless the camera itself was mounted to a small quadra-copter-like remote controlled device (and therefore at altitude, the size of which would cast no shadow), where's the shadow of the airborne camera? It literally lines up perfectly with the rocket and Sun during the decent. So perfectly, in fact, one might almost expect the shadow to have been cast on the fuselage itself.
The video quality and panning control seem to suggest it might have been a full-size helicopter.
“Do what from orbit? It’s a first stage it will never make it to orbit.”
Well, now, let’s see. They wanted to land a vehicle upright so that I suppose that it would be from orbit, no? When are vehicles expected to land upright if not from orbit?
If you are saying that first stages would be landed upright then I still say that too much fuel is required.
Why do you assume that ‘they’ may know more about rocket science than I? You do know what ‘assume’ does, don’t you? ;-)
How do you arrive at that conclusion? Can you show me numbers?
Why do you assume that they may know more about rocket science than I? You do know what assume does, dont you? ;-)
So how many space station resupply vehicles have you designed and launched?
“So how many space station resupply vehicles have you designed and launched?”
I am terribly sorry. My background is still classified by the U.S. government.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.