SpaceX Grasshopper Rocket Completes Its Highest Leap To Date

SpaceX have been going from strength to strength recently, not only is their Grasshopper rocket still making great advances, but it also recently completed its highest leap to date, reaching a hight of 744 meters before making a safe landing. Not to mention taking centre stage in an epic video!

On Monday, October 7th, the Grasshopper rocket reached the record hight while the launch was filmed using a single fixed camera on board a remote control hexacopter, giving us the closest view of the rocket to date.

Now obviously 744 meters isn’t even that close to space, but you do need to remember that this is a 10-story tall VTVL (Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing) vehicle that has been designed for testing the technologies that are needed to return rockets to earth intact, which is obviously no easy task.

Grasshopper consists of a Falcon 9 rocket first stage tank, Merlin 1D engine, four steel and aluminium landing legs with hydraulic dampers, and a steel support structure. It uses some fancy computing power and sensors to keep it stable and adjust its power out-out for take off and landing in the impressive fashion that it does. It’s certainly fun to watch and I can’t wait to see the final product in the future.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/9ZDkItO-0a4[/youtube]

Thank you SpaceIndustryNews for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of SpaceIndustryNews.