Spacex Sticks Landing! But Neglects Lateral Forces
Space came so close! to their goal of landing a rocket (in this case, just its booster) on a sea platform.
(Very close to landing a rocket booster on a sea platform)
Video from a chase plane showing the final seconds before the first stage of the SpaceX CRS-6 booster touched down on the company's "Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship" April 14, 2015.
The rocket did, for a second time in as many attempts, HIT the barge, but did not stay vertical & fell over. According to company leader Elon Musk, "Falcon landed fine, but excess lateral velocity caused it to tip over post landing."
All true sf fans (i.e., old fans) believe that one day spacecraft will be able to take off and land on their tails, just as God and Robert Heinlein intended.
Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...' - Clifford Simak,
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
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Tactile Skin Supplier Map
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!'
Orb Nomad Zero-Emission Electric Aircraft
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair or to perch on a flagpole in imitation of a giant bird, even in the windy city of Chicago.'
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'