Did SpaceX's Attempt to Reland Their Rocket on a Floating Platform Fail?

  • Topic: SpaceX 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Doug Huffman
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Rocket Spacex
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
Sign up Log in
7 replies · 2K views
Doug Huffman
Gold Member
Messages
807
Reaction score
111
Seeking to cut the cost of space launches, SpaceX hoped to bring the rocket back to Earth, aiming to land it on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean some 200 miles (322 km) off Jacksonville, Fla., north of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch site. A ship stationed near the platform tried to capture the touchdown on video, but it was too dark and foggy, Musk said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/10/us-space-spacex-idUSKBN0KJ08120150110

Sniff sniff! A neologism, reland?
 
Physics news on Phys.org

Discussion

I wonder how "reland" is different from "land". It would indicate you do landing more than once ("we relanded on a comet!").

That looks like a big step forward. The last attempts I saw where the vertical hops above the launch pad, and now they tried to use that in an actual space rocket.
 
I think that the vertical hops may have been a different project and I have seen videos of take-off, traverse, return and land. IIRC the project used an environmentally benign propellant, maybe liquid air and propane.
 
Thanks for the move. Yur korrect.
 
The question is what velocity did they hit at and did they run out of fuel?
 
Apparently it was very nearly a success but they ran out of hydraulic fluid in some component that caused the failed landing. I'd be surprised if they didn't get it right next time.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: edpell
I noticed the fluid problem but saw no mention of a leak failure or a total loss system (open loop) exhaustion.
 
Yeah I don't know any more than that. I have a couple friends who work at SpaceX but somehow I doubt they would be very forthcoming if I asked them.