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Last week, On Thursday, March 7, 2013, SpaceX’s Grasshopper took its highest leap ever, doubling its past flights. On March 7, 2013, the vertical and takeoff and landing (VTVL) vehicle, rose 24 stories or 80.1 meters (262.8 feet), hovered for approximately 34 seconds and then landed safely – and more accurately than ever before. The goal of Grasshopper is to eventually create a reusable first stage for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which would be able to land safely instead of falling back into the ocean and not being usable again.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed this video this weekend during the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, calling the Grasshopper’s flight a “Johnny Cash Hover Slam,” since the video includes Cash’s iconic song, “Ring of Fire.” A cowboy dummy was strapped to the side of the rocket for good measure (and perhaps good luck, since the previous test fight included the cowboy).
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Read the rest of SpaceX Grasshopper Takes a Leap Into a ‘Ring of Fire’ (107 words)
© nancy for Universe Today, 2013. |
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2013-03-11 18:32:10
Source: http://www.universetoday.com/100642/spacex-grasshopper-takes-a-leap-into-a-ring-of-fire/