

Elon Musk with the Falcon 9  (Source:












Sources: MSNBC,

Comments     Threshold


RE: re-use a thousand times?
By mmatis on 9/30/2011 6:37:12 PM , Rating: 1
I hate to tell you this, but they ARE "dumping it in the ocean" each launch. It DOES parachute in, like the Shuttle's SRBs did, but instead of a solid rocket motor, this is a liquid booster with the various and sundry components required for it to work. Yes, the engine will have cooled by the time it impacts the water, but the orifices in the combustion chamber are not salt-water friendly. Same for the wiring and other electronic components on the engine. Have you LOOKED at a large liquid rocket engine lately? Looky-loos routinely derided the SRBs as non-reusable due to the amount of rework required before they could be reused. Yet solid boosters are FAR less complex than liquid.

But then this does give the politicians another way to spend tax dollars. Which I suppose is the MOST important criteria these days.

RE: re-use a thousand times?
By Jedi2155 on 9/30/2011 7:39:55 PM , Rating: 2
If you actually read the article or looked it up, they are not "dumping it in the ocean." The goal of the resuable SpaceX rockets is to literally reland the boosters with existing fuel.

Just watch the video.

RE: re-use a thousand times?


RE: re-use a thousand times?

RE: re-use a thousand times?

