Hey, did I mentioned the three books in my Jakirian Cycle are out:)
For a while now Elon Musk’s Space X has be busily working away at developing a reusable rocket system, with both a first and second stage that can be reused with hours of return.
The Grasshopper rocket is the test vehicle for the reusable first stage. Earlier in the year this reached a height of 325m and then touched down again. In its latest test flight on October 7, the Grasshopper reached a height of 744m and landed right back down on the launch pad. It’s an awesome thing to see. Check out the footage, which was captured by a remote controlled hexacopter stationed in the sky. The rocket lands on a dime. Amazing control.
Hey, Elon Musk, can I come work for you? I’m a real engineer, honest.
OK. Back to reality.
The plans are to continue to extend the height at which the Grasshopper stops and returns to the launch pad.
In the meantime, Space X has progressed the other part of the proposed testing regime by performing the first test on a returning Falcon 9 first stage booster. The Falcon 9’s engines were re-lit twice on the way down during the September 29 test flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The two burns eased the vehicle’s return to Earth, where it eventually splashed down over the Pacific Ocean.
The Falcon 9 v1.1 carried Canada’s CASSIOPE space-weather satellite and three smaller spacecraft to orbit. As its first stage fell back to Earth, the secondary test program was initiated.
The first burn ( where three engines were ignited for supersonic retro propulsion) enabled the returning first stage to survive atmospheric re-entry without burning up. The second burn (with a single engine) went well, although the splashdown was a little harder than planned due to a roll developed by the returning vehicle.
Exciting stuff, and right in line with Space X’s stated development path. The company now believe they have ‘. . . all the pieces to achieve a full recovery of the boost stage.’
One step closer to a true reusable rocket and a system with will get us ‘up there’ at last:)
Cross-posted at chrismcmahons blog.
Mad Genius Club 
5 responses to “Reusable Rockets One Step Closer”
Space X is exciting, and sexy too. 🙂 It seems like space was so boring for so many years. Curiosity was a big change to that. The X prize, Virgin Galactic and Space X, and a few other (mostly) private endeavors (yes, I know they run mostly on government contracts) have made space *romantic* again.
Also, have I said those are great covers? Keep on reminding us. I’ve been picking up people’s books a bit at a time as I can.
Hi, Synova. Space X is exciting, because Elon Musk just seems to have that rare combination of technical nouse and business thinking that can realise projects on the edge of what is possible. Dare I say the word ‘Visionary’?
Yes. Totally over the moon about the covers. I’ll be at Brisbane Supanova on Nov 9-10 with copies. I’ve also had a big pullup printed with artwork from the first novel and the covers down the right hand side. It looks awesome:)
This is exciting. I was pretty skeptical when the government announced that the US would be using private firms to get into space in the near future, but it looks like it’s actually going to happen.
Absolutely. When they actually pulled off the docking of their Dragon capsule with the ISS – the first private vehicle to visit there – there was a sudden wash of reality through all their hype. ‘Wow – these guys deliver!’ Let’s hope they keep delivering.