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Stupid question but why can't the rocket drop horizontally from a close altitude to a soft floating area? Do they really need it to land vertically?
by rebelidealist 12y ago
Stupid question but why can't the rocket drop horizontally from a close altitude to a soft floating area? Do they really need it to land vertically?
- NeutronBoy 12y agoThe structure of the rocket is designed to support itself upright. It would likely fall apart (or at least get damaged) if you lay it on it's side, without a whole lot of (heavy) re-enforcements to the structure.
- cryptoz 12y agoSpaceX is preparing the technology to land on Mars. While this particular rocket will not go to Mars, the next iteration will. There are no soft floating areas on Mars, therefore that solution will not work. This is also the reason there are no parachutes, etc. Vertical rocket landings work on Earth, Mars, the moon, pretty much all surfaces in the accessible solar system. So having a rocket that can land vertically, refuel, and take off again is important for space travel, and that's the primary goal here. You can think of the Falcon 9 rocket and its tests to be like a revenue-generating prototype, so they're testing a bunch of future technology when they do these landings.
- BinaryIdiot 12y agoIt wasn't a stupid question and thanks for asking it; I was curious of this as well.