Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Elon Musk's Other Project: "SpaceX's 10-story tall Grasshopper rocket flies sideways in latest launch"

Following up on April's "What's Elon Musk Up to? His Rocket Lands Itself On Its Lauching Pad: Space-X".
(very impressive)

From The Verge:

SpaceX lateral motion screengrab (Credit: SpaceX/YouTube)
Elon Musk's hypothetical Hyperloop is getting all the attention this week, but another one of his futuristic transportation pet projects is progressing by leaps and bounds in the real world. SpaceX's reusable, vertical landing, Grasshopper rocket took to the skies once again in McGregor, Texas, yesterday, for another milestone flight. The 100-foot-tall rocket has previously flown to heights in excess of 1,000 feet, hovered for a few seconds, and landed perfectly upright on the launchpad. But yesterday's test launch saw Grasshopper do something it's never done before: launch straight up about 800 feet, then travel over 300 feet sideways, or laterally, before returning to its original position in mid-air and landing.
Don't try this at home: