Falcon 9 Reusable: 2nd Test Flight

[Waspie_Dwarf]

F9R Flight Test | 1,000m

Video of Falcon 9 Reusable (F9R) taking its second test flight at our rocket development facility. F9R quadrupled its height from its previous test to rise to 1,000m.

Early flights of F9R will take off with legs fixed in the down position. However, we will soon be transitioning to liftoff with legs stowed against the side of the rocket and then extending them just before landing.

The F9R testing program is the next step towards reusability following completion of the Grasshopper program last year. Future testing, including that in New Mexico, will be conducted using the first stage of a F9R as shown here, which is essentially a Falcon 9 v1.1 first stage with legs. F9R test flights in New Mexico will allow us to test at higher altitudes than we are permitted for at our test site in Texas, to do more with unpowered guidance and to prove out landing cases that are more-flight like.

Source: spacexchannel - YouTube

Edited June 19, 2014 by Waspie_Dwarf

[Professor T]

That's cool..

But did-ya-see the crop circles!!!

Bet you they're laughing..

[Aus Der Box Skeptisch]

Fantastic. Just watched the test on yt. Finally moving forward again. I'm glad.

[Peter B]

That's just so impressive to watch.

I've often written the praises of SpaceX, and this seems another good excuse. They're testing a reusable first stage here, along with launching payloads to the International Space Station, and I understand that later this year they'll have the first launch of their super-heavy launch vehicle, the Falcon Heavy. And they're developing a manned spacecraft.

That's an impressive resume for a company which only had its first successful launch in September 2008.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

I understand that later this year they'll have the first launch of their super-heavy launch vehicle, the Falcon Heavy.

Now that they have the lease of the old Apollo/Shuttle pad 39A at Kennedy they have pushed back that first flight to early next year.

[taniwha]

That was fun.