SpaceX's Grasshopper Successfully Flew 325 Metres
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Re: SpaceX's Grasshopper Successfully Flew 325 Metres
#2Honestly I would like to see some spectacular failures. Just as Gwynne stated recently, if SpaceX doesn't generate a few craters with this program during testing it means they aren't trying as hard as they can. I'm glad Grasshopper will have its flight ceiling lifted soon with the new testing facility.
Not to say a 100% flight record wouldn't be fantastic, but I'd really enjoy seeing the trend of doubling height to continue, or even greater.
Re: SpaceX's Grasshopper Successfully Flew 325 Metres
#3Honestly I would like to see some spectacular failures. Just as Gwynne stated recently, if SpaceX doesn't generate a few craters with this program during testing it means they aren't trying as hard as they can. I'm glad Grasshopper will have its flight ceiling lifted soon with the new testing facility. Not to say a 100% flight record wouldn't be fantastic, but I'd really enjoy seeing the trend of doubling height to c…
They still have about 10x to go to hit the VTOL rocket record of 3140 meters [1], which they seem to be aiming for, so I assume some more doubling-or-greater is in the works.
Re: SpaceX's Grasshopper Successfully Flew 325 Metres
#4Honestly I would like to see some spectacular failures. Just as Gwynne stated recently, if SpaceX doesn't generate a few craters with this program during testing it means they aren't trying as hard as they can. I'm glad Grasshopper will have its flight ceiling lifted soon with the new testing facility. Not to say a 100% flight record wouldn't be fantastic, but I'd really enjoy seeing the trend of doubling height to c…
They still have about 10x to go to hit the VTOL rocket record of 3140 meters [1], which they seem to be aiming for, so I assume some more doubling-or-greater is in the works. [1] http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/x-33/dc-xa.htm
I can't wait.
Re: SpaceX's Grasshopper Successfully Flew 325 Metres
#5Elon and the SpaceX team are kicking ass!
2 months ago they hovered at 250m: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUvbh-Z8Abk
6 months ago they hovered at the height of a 12-story (40m) building: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz-NYeH-CEY
These guys are on a very fast learning curve. These near-ground tests are the hardest.
Elon said that they will be using a fully reusable first stage in 2015, only 18 months away: http://allthingsd.com/20130530/tesla-ceo-and-spacex-founder-...
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_reusable_rocket_launchin...]
Re: SpaceX's Grasshopper Successfully Flew 325 Metres
#6Armadillo did this, and cooler already :)
Re: SpaceX's Grasshopper Successfully Flew 325 Metres
#7Armadillo did this, and cooler already :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u0qlIoSSkQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Xiq3dYJlM#ws
While it's awesome that they've done this, the scale isn't exactly the same. The Super Mod is about 12 feet tall. Grasshopper is 106 feet tall and has considerably more power.
Re: SpaceX's Grasshopper Successfully Flew 325 Metres
#8Honestly I would like to see some spectacular failures. Just as Gwynne stated recently, if SpaceX doesn't generate a few craters with this program during testing it means they aren't trying as hard as they can. I'm glad Grasshopper will have its flight ceiling lifted soon with the new testing facility. Not to say a 100% flight record wouldn't be fantastic, but I'd really enjoy seeing the trend of doubling height to c…
Eh. SpaceX is very conservative in many ways. Part of the reason they've been so successful is that they've taken tried-and-tested rocket designs and just refined them to be more efficient, rather than trying something brand new and exotic, so I wouldn't say it's a bad thing they haven't had any "spectacular failures." It just means the core technology is finally getting mature enough to be reliable and cost-effective, which is a good thing.
Re: SpaceX's Grasshopper Successfully Flew 325 Metres
#9Honestly I would like to see some spectacular failures. Just as Gwynne stated recently, if SpaceX doesn't generate a few craters with this program during testing it means they aren't trying as hard as they can. I'm glad Grasshopper will have its flight ceiling lifted soon with the new testing facility. Not to say a 100% flight record wouldn't be fantastic, but I'd really enjoy seeing the trend of doubling height to c…
What short memories!
Re: SpaceX's Grasshopper Successfully Flew 325 Metres
#10I was glad to notice the lack of Johnny Cash drowning out the rocket sounds. I have nothing against Cash, but these rocket landings are impressive as they are, without treating them like an MTV video.