Houston, we have touchdown?

[numbnuts240]

this made me happy inside.



http://www.space.com/31444-spacex-falco ... hotos.html

the video in the link is awesome.

[NolimitZ32]

Me too.

[sx moneypit]

Badass!!!

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I was wondering about this the other day. I always thought they jettisoned the main rockets and retrieved them from the ocean, and re-used them.
I would think the added weight and expense of the extra rocket fuel would negate the benefits of having it return itself to land... but hey, that's why I'm here, and they're there.

[txchamps]

I think this was a "can it be done" test. On a longer journey, I think it would be a simple matter of having fuel tanks in orbit from which the vessel could recharge before re-entry. Still rather costly, it seems to me.

[OriginalWheelman]

Fuel is still probably cheaper than manufacturing another one. Resources, time, expensive high tech manufacturing labor, etc

[float_6969]

As Elon Musk himself said, "The Falcon 9 rocket costs about $16 million to build … but the cost of the propellant, which is mostly oxygen and a gas, is only about $200,000," Musk said. "So that means that the potential cost reduction in the long term is probably in excess of a factor of a hundred."

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Yeah, but what I'm saying is I didn't think the rockets were ruined after their 1 time use.
I thought they just picked them up after splash down and re-used them.

[OriginalWheelman]

Well it's not like that. Right now Stage 1 is reusable. They've got that mostly down and while they fine tune it they are going to work on making the 2nd stage reusable. As os now only the rockets are reusable. It's more like an Atlas than the Space Shuttle. It's a payload on top of a 2 stage rocket.

[float_6969]

Yeah, but what I'm saying is I didn't think the rockets were ruined after their 1 time use.
I thought they just picked them up after splash down and re-used them.

Maybe the 1st stage, but I don't think the 2nd stage comes back down. The idea is that eventually both stages are returned to earth and reused.

[MinisterofDOOM]

This stuff is incredibly exciting. Interplanetary diaspora is the only real long-term future for mankind, and I love seeing the very early steps taken down that path!

Funny, though: I remember watching old sci-fi and cartoons as a kid, and seeing sci-fi cigar rockets land vertically. I always thought "That's stupid, there's no way a rocket could land vertically like that!" Guess there's a reason nobody was paying 7-year-old me to design spacecraft! But that makes it all the more awesome to watch the real thing doing exactly that.

[OriginalWheelman]

On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for any planet drops to zero. #ExploreSpaceOrDie

[numbnuts240]

stay tuned this sunday. spacex is going to attempt another rocket landing on a droid ship.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/spacex ... d=36235645

[PapaSmurf2k3]

We're landing an unmanned rocket on an unmanned boat.
This is science fiction from 50 years ago, people.

[OriginalWheelman]

It's alive!

http://www.engadget.com/2016/01/16/spac ... -falcon-9/

[OriginalWheelman]

T- 4 minutes! NASA is go for launch!

[OriginalWheelman]

We have liftoff!

[OriginalWheelman]

Launch went 'nominal.' If you're not an engineer that means it went perfectly. Stage 2 is in orbit, coasting, and 45 minutes from payload delivery. Stage 1 is on reentry and headed for the drone ship.

[OriginalWheelman]

Falcon9 came in hard and broke a landing leg, but landed on the barge. Still amazing. Waiting on SpaceX to release photos of the landing.

The satellite was successfully deployed! Mission accomplished!

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Nice!

[OriginalWheelman]

Just feet from landing. Then the leg broke.



I don't think we'll be getting a 3rd launch. Onward to Falcon10!

"Well, at least the pieces were bigger this time!" - Elon Musk

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Hah that's great.

[numbnuts240]

after seeing video of the last failed attempt to land on the barge, it's amazing to see that photo of falcon9 resting on the ship, albeit on its side.

[Dattebayo]

Maybe they should have 5 or 6 landing legs next time so It has a higher chance of re-use after losing a leg (or even two).

Maybe I should post that somewhere more appropriate and noticeable than here, also? Ha.

[numbnuts240]

I don't think we'll be getting a 3rd launch. Onward to Falcon10!

Maybe they should have 5 or 6 landing legs next time so It has a higher chance of re-use after losing a leg (or even two).

BAM!

http://www.space.com/32530-spacex-rocke ... tures.html

[numbnuts240]

damned close to a bullseye with 50mph winds. bravo.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I'm impressed.

[float_6969]