SpaceX
3 HN mentions · mentioned in 3 months, 2013–2014
1:36 · 3.8M views · Jul 6, 2013
SpaceX footage of the Grasshopper reusable rocket prototype flying 325 m before landing on its pad. It was the first test to use the full navigation sensor suite and closed-loop control for a precision landing.
Cited as a concrete demonstration of Grasshopper's vertical takeoff and landing, including the hover.
3 comments from Hacker News
I am not trolling, but trying to lead a conversation based on arguments. You, on the other side, do not have any arguments... your only argument is that I am trolling. Look, check this video: this video This is how it works - at one point the rocket has 0 velocity, but does not fall back to earth. They can do that at any altitude. You made so many false statements, that clearly show that YOU are the one that should learn about physics Your statement: "Anything less than escape velocity and the spacecraft is pulled back into the atmosphere." is simply ridiculous.
I upvoted this thinking it was a new test, but sadly this is an older result from two months ago. To make amends for upvoting without reading the article, here is the history of Grasshopper's public flights Date Altitude Duration Youtube 2012-09-21 1.8 m 3 seconds [LINK] 2012-11-01 5.4 m 8 seconds [LINK] 2012-12-17 40 m 29 seconds [LINK] 2013-03-07 80 m 34 seconds [LINK] 2013-04-17 250 m 61 seconds [LINK] 2013-06-14 325 m 68 seconds this video
> SpaceX is doing great implementations of pretty conservative designs. Like the other reply mentioned, they are certainly working on some technologies that are starkly less conservative. One example is the Grasshopper [1], a reusable first stage that is capable of returning to the launchpad under controlled burn. [1] Here's the most recent 325m test: this video