I wonder if an intermediate step is for SpaceX to use the retrofire maneuver to allow a current stage to survive re-entry and make a parachute landing at sea?
The intermediate step would seem to be the grasshopper.
Perhaps. It seems a lot easier to land somewhere downrange than to try and fly back to the launch site but that depends on the trajectory. Bezos wants to land on a platform downrange but that will require a lot in the way of landing accuracy. Either way, it’s pretty damned cool that someone is willing to try these ideas.
“Bezos wants to land on a platform downrange but that will require a lot in the way of landing accuracy”
And on sea conditions at the platform, especially for a tall object. This would be a return to conditions similar to the Shuttle, where there could be perfect conditions at the launch site, but no launch because conditions are unacceptable in Spain or Senegal for a Transatlantic Abort.
Worse, in that a TAL may not happen, but a recoverable stage *must* land.
And on sea conditions at the platform, especially for a tall object. This would be a return to conditions similar to the Shuttle, where there could be perfect conditions at the launch site, but no launch because conditions are unacceptable in Spain or Senegal for a Transatlantic Abort.
Perhaps not as bad as that. A platform similar to a drilling rig seems to be pretty stable by design. While I have no experience in this, it seems it’d be very difficult to do a drilling operation if the platform is moving much vertically. I think they’ve designed those platforms to be stable or you’d be breaking a lot of drills. Wind speed at the landing platform might be a more significant limitation that wave conditions but that’s just speculation on my part.
I wonder if an intermediate step is for SpaceX to use the retrofire maneuver to allow a current stage to survive re-entry and make a parachute landing at sea?
The intermediate step would seem to be the grasshopper.
Perhaps. It seems a lot easier to land somewhere downrange than to try and fly back to the launch site but that depends on the trajectory. Bezos wants to land on a platform downrange but that will require a lot in the way of landing accuracy. Either way, it’s pretty damned cool that someone is willing to try these ideas.
“Bezos wants to land on a platform downrange but that will require a lot in the way of landing accuracy”
And on sea conditions at the platform, especially for a tall object. This would be a return to conditions similar to the Shuttle, where there could be perfect conditions at the launch site, but no launch because conditions are unacceptable in Spain or Senegal for a Transatlantic Abort.
Worse, in that a TAL may not happen, but a recoverable stage *must* land.
And on sea conditions at the platform, especially for a tall object. This would be a return to conditions similar to the Shuttle, where there could be perfect conditions at the launch site, but no launch because conditions are unacceptable in Spain or Senegal for a Transatlantic Abort.
Perhaps not as bad as that. A platform similar to a drilling rig seems to be pretty stable by design. While I have no experience in this, it seems it’d be very difficult to do a drilling operation if the platform is moving much vertically. I think they’ve designed those platforms to be stable or you’d be breaking a lot of drills. Wind speed at the landing platform might be a more significant limitation that wave conditions but that’s just speculation on my part.