2 ms·
I would imagine the escape system is only used when there is something very wrong with the flight. In that case there is usually no hope of recovering the rocke
by Ndymium 7y ago
I would imagine the escape system is only used when there is something very wrong with the flight. In that case there is usually no hope of recovering the rocket anyway (if it didn't explode, could it make it to the landing site?). The added weight and complexity probably make this a bad trade-off.
- skykooler 7y agoI remember seeing someone tackle that question on /r/spacex; the consensus was that, while a first stage booster can return on its own, if it has a full second stage attached the extra mass is too much for the legs (it normally lands nearly empty) and the extra length causes aerodynamics issues (the gridfins should be at the top of the rocket but in that scenario there's quite a bit of rocket above them).