Has anyone else, having seen this amazing picture from September's launch, been waiting to see more? Like the video from which this frame was grabbed, perhaps? I believe this shot shows the first stage 3 meters above the ocean. If you watched that launch you could see the first stage re-firing as it fell away from the second stage after separation. SpaceX is keeping these images hidden away. (Where's TEG?)
Then there's this:
For November's SES-8 launch Elon Musk stated that they would not try to recover the first stage, but if you watch beginning at 3:45 in this amateur video you can see the first stage begin to correct attitude by firing thrusters and begin a powered descent after separation. (It's also amazing that I think you can see the faring separate from the second stage.) Barring an explosion of the second stage (which of course didn't happen) the videographer would have seen something far more amazing than he did by continuing to track that second stage. I'm thinking that someone out there, right on the ocean with no obstructions, would have been able to track the first stage as it continued to descend if there was available light. Was there enough fuel for a soft touchdown? Did the SpaceX engineers fix the centrifuging fuel issue?
I was fascinated by the Roadster, then mesmerized and ecstatic over the launch of the Model S, but this new awe of the Grasshopper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDkItO-0a4) and finally these recovery attempts and what they mean for the space industry and the future of human spaceflight is an order of magnitude beyond . . . I want to see more!!! I must have more. I can't wait until the end of the month or early next year for another fix of this extreme tech tightrope walk.
Who out there has better video? Elon, please hook us up!
Then there's this:
Beginning at 3:45.
For November's SES-8 launch Elon Musk stated that they would not try to recover the first stage, but if you watch beginning at 3:45 in this amateur video you can see the first stage begin to correct attitude by firing thrusters and begin a powered descent after separation. (It's also amazing that I think you can see the faring separate from the second stage.) Barring an explosion of the second stage (which of course didn't happen) the videographer would have seen something far more amazing than he did by continuing to track that second stage. I'm thinking that someone out there, right on the ocean with no obstructions, would have been able to track the first stage as it continued to descend if there was available light. Was there enough fuel for a soft touchdown? Did the SpaceX engineers fix the centrifuging fuel issue?
I was fascinated by the Roadster, then mesmerized and ecstatic over the launch of the Model S, but this new awe of the Grasshopper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDkItO-0a4) and finally these recovery attempts and what they mean for the space industry and the future of human spaceflight is an order of magnitude beyond . . . I want to see more!!! I must have more. I can't wait until the end of the month or early next year for another fix of this extreme tech tightrope walk.
Who out there has better video? Elon, please hook us up!
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