SpaceX Grasshopper - Newest Altitude Record

[roosterr]

Gotta love SpaceX.

The Grasshopper Project mission is to lower the cost of spaceflight by enabling a reusable first stage (and maybe even stage 2 etc.).

Here is the latest "hop" at over 1,000 feet.

SpaceX even designed and built the "Hexacopter" camera to film their launches.

Edited July 8, 2013 by roosterr

[astropapi1]

I'm suscribed to them. Awesome tests huh? I love how it even lands on the same spot.

[Sma]

I'm imagining the engineers placing bets as to how accurate the landing would be. I could see them all marking a spot(something that wouldn't be destroyed by the heat/thrust) on the launch/landing pad.

Would be interesting to have something like the hexacopter in KSP. Granted there are plugins like kerbal cam, though not exactly the same. Would be cool to have "camera" mounted to a separate "rover" that could show video of launches/landing. Either in a window like the robotic arm/docking cams, or maybe even in the background record an avi or some other video format, though I guess being as that objects not in focus don't run (like kethane miners/scanners not actually working unless they're selected) it wouldn't really work. Oh well...

[stupid_chris]

Indeed, gotta love SpaceX. They're gonna get to Mars before the NASA even gets close to any of their current objectives at this rate.

[NovaSilisko]

They're also gonna start fitting the F9v1.1 first stages with landing legs and guidance systems, to conduct tests with every Falcon mission. Then once they have both that and the grasshopper to suitable levels of readiness, they'll combine the knowledge gained through both and try flying first stages back to the launch site. Exciting stuff.

[TheCanadianVendingMachine]

I personally do not like SpaceX and like NASA for the pure fact that NASA started first and I do not want some guy that owns a commercial company that isn't just for space travel to go anywhere.

But on the contrary, I am happy of their re useablity and how more people are interested in Space

[deadshot462]

Their goal becomes more believable with each progression of these tests.

[NovaSilisko]

I do not want some guy that owns a commercial company that isn't just for space travel to go anywhere.

Uh... SpaceX was founded purely for the purposes of space travel...

[TheCanadianVendingMachine]

Uh... SpaceX was founded purely for the purposes of space travel...

Wasn't the guy who founded it also founded Tesla Motors?

If not, sorry. (No sarcasm intended)

[NovaSilisko]

Wasn't the guy who founded it also founded Tesla Motors?

If not, sorry. (No sarcasm intended)

Oh, thought you had meant the company itself. He did found Tesla, as well as SolarCity and Paypal(but he left ages ago, before ebay bought it), but what's wrong with that?

[TheCanadianVendingMachine]

Oh, thought you had meant the company itself. He did found Tesla, as well as SolarCity and Paypal(but he left ages ago, before ebay bought it), but what's wrong with that?

To be honest, I don't even know. My mind is odd sometimes I don't even know why I would hate something, it just happens.

[roosterr]

..... I do not want some guy that owns a commercial company that isn't just for space travel to go anywhere.

Elon Musk's goal is to put humans on mars. really.

[Rappit]

How awesome is this?! The gov. should give them more money, and stop funding usless stuff like Formula1....

[Xeldrak]

While it is awesome to look at, what is their goal? A first stage for a rocket that can perform a powered landing? Or a complete rocket?

I don't see the advantage over "adding parachutes"

[roosterr]

While it is awesome to look at, what is their goal? A first stage for a rocket that can perform a powered landing? Or a complete rocket?

I don't see the advantage over "adding parachutes"

It is to recover the first stage which will save lots of money. I have not seen any graphics of their ultimate stage recovery plan, but if it were ME, I think a combination parachute and retro-landing system would make sense. As in, parachute back to an appropriate altitude, then cut the cord loose and burn the rest of the way down to a soft landing.

Edited July 9, 2013 by roosterr

[roosterr]

How awesome is this?! The gov. should give them more money, and stop funding usless stuff like Formula1....

I applaud NASA for their great accomplishments, but if you want to do it better, faster, cheaper, let an entrepreneur handle it. The best thing that NASA did was to have competitive vendor competitions ("challenges") that made the aerospace companies compete with their own prototypes and funding for contracts. The team with the best prototype and design efficiency wins.

[Rappit]

I applaud NASA for their great accomplishments, but if you want to do it better, faster, cheaper, let an entrepreneur handle it. The best thing that NASA did was to have competitive vendor competitions ("challenges") that made the aerospace companies compete with their own prototypes and funding for contracts. The team with the best prototype and design efficiency wins.

True words has been spoken! Btw. an average Olympic games costs approx. 13.9 billion dollars, and a mars mission would cost about the same. I mean we should survive if we would miss an olympic game once in a while.

[KSK]

It is to recover the first stage which will save lots of money. I have not seen any graphics of their ultimate stage recovery plan, but if it were ME, I think a combination parachute and retro-landing system would make sense. As in, parachute back to an appropriate altitude, then cut the cord loose and burn the rest of the way down to a soft landing.

I could be wrong but that might end up being the worst of both worlds rather than the best. Parachutes are heavy and the spare fuel you need to lift your booster recovery chutes may as well just be used for the powered landing. Also, if I remember correctly, SpaceX did try parachute recovery on the first few Falcon 9 flights but seem to have abandoned the idea, presumably because they couldn't get it to work well enough.

[MK3424]

How awesome is this?! The gov. should give them more money, and stop funding usless stuff like Formula1....

Formula 1 isn't even funded by the government, only the tracks they are racing at are!

and also Circuit of the Americans wasn't designed purely for F1.