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A comment on Rocket Will Be Recaptured in Midair with a Helicopter. Parent comment

Re:Rocket Will Be Recaptured in Midair with a Helicopter by ohitsdom on Tuesday April 14, 2015 @07:56AM (#9373480)
You probably already know this, but just want to point out that SpaceX's approach goes way beyond "landing it on a boat". For today's launch (and launches in the near future), they'll land it on their barge. But after the landing system has been proven, they'll land it on the launchpad it took off from. Work is already underway at Kennedy Space Center to make a launch site capable to have a rocket landing.

Pretty cool animation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ca6x4QbpoM

I do wonder how much this will save SpaceX in logistics cost once it's in place. Seems a lot cheaper than coordinating a helicopter to catch a rocket engine in mid air, land it on a barge, and ship it back to shore.

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Re:Rocket Will Be Recaptured in Midair with a Helicopter by lloeki on Tuesday April 14, 2015 @09:00AM (#9373835)
Don't forget that SpaceX aims for that red rock out there. Reusability in this case may go much farther than saving on convoluted blocks of metal but also includes gathering data and experience for a surefire way to get there and back.
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