A demonstration of the Reusable Spacecraft concept currently in development as a variant of the SpaceX Falcon line. This CG video demonstrates an example launch, orbital mission and landing of a (possibly) manned Dragon capsule. All 3 stages land under their own power, on their own landing gear, at a land-based spaceport.
The self-landing functionality was recently tested, with partial success, as part of the Sept 29 launch of the Dragon 9 rocket. According to Musk, the booster started spinning on re-entry which "centrifuged the propellant"—spun it to the tank's walls and kept it from feeding into the engine. As a result, it hit the water hard, leaving the company's employees with pieces to recover. This booster didn't have landing gear anyway, and was not mean to touch down softly.
Load Comments...
Discuss...
Enable JavaScript to submit a comment.